


Heart of Gold

by Bravehardt, Foxglove_Fiction, Stellarwind (Bravehardt)



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dragons, Brief Stony, Don't copy to another site, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Mating Rituals, Minor Character Death, Modern with Dragons, No Rogues Bashing, Rivals to Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Supreme Fam, Tw suicidal themes, Xenophilia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-10-27
Packaged: 2020-09-29 22:20:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 141,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20443481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Bravehardt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxglove_Fiction/pseuds/Foxglove_Fiction, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Stellarwind
Summary: It's been 200 years since the last major catastrophe from worlds beyond their own, and with each passing year, the Sanctums of the world seem to be considered more and more things of antiquity, especially in the face of technological advancements. Some people still honour the old ways, and technology alone doesn't stop children from dreaming of roaming the skies and protecting the Earth mounted on the backs of the massive dragons that watched over the world centuries ago. But the dragons and their riders seem to keep to themselves more than anything in recent years.For a man born of an empire that runs the world's largest ammunitions company, the dream might be considered childish, but Tony Stark still aspires to join the ranks of the fabled dragon riders. It may be that he's destined for much more than that.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! We're really excited to share this story with you - we've been obsessing about dragons for months now and finally getting to get one of our two dragon fics out is exciting!
> 
> **Inspired by the Dragon Riders of PERN series by Anne and Todd McCaffery** \- in case anyone notices familiarities. With that said, it's only inspired. There's a lot that's heavily divergent, as well.
> 
> A big thanks to Musiusi for sensitivity checking a couple of things for us!

Tony Stark was a Stark first and a human being with free thought absolutely last - at least as far as his father was concerned. There were few things he hated quite as much as his father’s ‘plans’ for him, which went a long way to explaining why he was staring out the window rather than actually listening to the man speak.

“- and two meetings with the Hong Kong execs on Friday morning. I expect you to be on your best behaviour, Tony. If I see anything about you drinking or spending time with Ms. Cho again we’re going to have a serious talk.”

“What if I don’t want to?” Tony sighed heavily, turning his gaze away from the window to look at Howard.

“If you want access to any company ‘assets’, then you’re going to do as your told and act like a responsible representative of this company,” his father responded, giving him a cool business-stare. As always. As though he’d seen any other expression from the man, ever.

“And what if I don’t want any of that?”

“What do you plan to do, exactly, without it?” Howard scoffed.

“I’ll go to the Sanctum-”

“Oh here we go again.”

“-I’ll become a dragon rider.” Tony continued as though he hadn’t heard the man speak. Tony meant most of what he said in part, but it was also an excuse to get Howard riled up. He knew his old man hated any mentions of the sanctum.

“You’ll become an obsolete waste of space, that’s what you’ll become. Is that what you want? How many times do we have to talk about this? There haven’t been any attacks in two centuries, and even if another one came, what Stark Industries is creating is far more effective and cost efficient than fantasy concepts of riding around on dragons. Here I thought you were beyond childish ideas like that.”

“Mom didn’t think they were obsolete.” Tony bit back sharply and Howard’s eyes narrowed but before he could get a word in Tony shoved himself to his feet and stalked off towards the door. “Mom gave a shit what I wanted. And you know what? I’m not out here to make you proud. I’d rather make mom proud.”

He slammed the door behind himself as he went. He had only about a year left until he’d be considered too old to submit himself as a candidate for a hatching, because apparently that mattered for some reason he never quite understood. What he knew was that his time was running out to live out his dream and damnit he wanted to do something for himself.

There was a tempest of emotions surging inside the founder's son. Much of his life he'd felt had been squandered, taken from him. With his age also came insurgence and Tony had just about reached the pinnacle of what he could stand when it came to his father's autocratic ways.

Howard ran the family less like a family and more like a fascist dictatorship. Money and weapons were all that really mattered in the old man's eyes and every mention of Tony proposing to abscond to the Sanctum would always be met with the same ice and ichor from his father.

Each time the fights ended the same way and had always since he was a child - lately with the peak of Tony's patience, he'd started to bite back. Howard's words affected him less and less with each berating and belittling and he was teetering over the edge on whether to run. Albeit he was emotional right now, and perhaps acting out of that emotion wouldn't prove to yield fair results for him.

So he did what he normally did when he needed time to think about his problems, he called up Rhodey, and the two of them met up to help Tony get his frustrations out.

"Thanks for coming Rhodey-bear, I've just about had it with dad and I know I've said that before but I really mean it this time!" Tony stated, regarding his best friend since childhood. They were at a small local coffee shop and he'd begun to divest himself of his frustrations to his best friend.

"I hear the same song and dance from you all the time Tones, I honestly think you should stick it to that old man and seriously," the man clapped a hand down on Tony's shoulders, "go for it, what do you have to lose?"

Tony focused more on his cup, but he was still solicitous to Rhodey's words.

"If not to show him up, then do it for you. It's been a dream of yours, hell - you always pretended to be a dragon rider when we were younger. Remember when we would play those games with Jarvis? This is something you can actually make happen if you just take that first leap." 

The young engineer finally regarded his friend with a very intent look. "Yeah, I know, I know… but man, talking about doing something is way easier than doing it. I was emotional and-"

"Tones, you're always going to find a million reasons not to do something, it only takes one good reason to go ahead and do it, and I think you should really do it." Rhodey, flashed Tony a half-smile and lightly shook squeezed his shoulder.

Tony hesitated briefly, and Rhodey offered a short smirk. “I’ll drive you if you want? I hear there’s a clutch about ready to hatch in the next week or so. I’ll hang out with you through it and if it doesn’t work out then I’ll give you a ride home, no harm, right? And if it _ does _ work out… then fuck Howard, you’ll be a dragon rider!”

He could feel the surge of excitement welling up within him as he looked at his best friend. “Really? A hatching soon? We… I mean we could just… go watch the hatching right? I don’t necessarily have to participate…” Tony began, fidgeting in his spot and contemplating the idea.

He’d only ever seen hatchings on TV shows - and what were the chances that he and Howard had their argument while there was a clutch already on the hatching sands? Opportunity… fate, maybe? At the very least he could see the hatching in person, but maybe… maybe he could ride a dragon.

Become a dragon rider.

For a moment he pondered the thought, before realizing Rhodey had continued to speak while he was lost in thought.

“-And you called it ‘Red’ because what else would you name a red dragon, remember? You wouldn’t listen to me when I told you dragons named themselves. ‘Who names themselves?’ you’d always argue…”

Excitement was a meek, docile creature that poked its head out of the safety of its dwelling to venture on a path to a potentially exciting future. Quick to scare, but determined and once set on it's path would not stop until it's final destination, obstacles or no. 

Either idea had no downsides to it, Tony could only come out _ on top _, right?

If the plan didn't work out, he hardly doubted Howard was going to completely ostracize him from the household, though he would receive a rather stern talking to if not an out-right haranguing and potentially have to live with some pretty nasty smart remarks and belittlement.

For a dream? It was a small price to pay for the potential of true happiness.

Tony leaned on his arm and imagined himself flying on a majestic red dragon, he knew a lot about the different dragon types from what he'd seen on television, an ever-present fascination within the realm of his mind.

A realm indeed. 

Tony's mind was just so expansive and advanced, so formulaic that the engineer-slash-genius' drive and knowledge knew no bounds. He learned at lightning speed and should he put his mind to it, could have long surpassed his father's legacy.

But to be an heir to the company was no dream of Tony's and so his father always saw his talents wasted on flights of fancy, which Howard considered the Sanctum orders to be.

_ Still. _

"Let's do it, I'll go home and pack, and we can go tonight." Tony had made up his mind, and Rhodes brandished a broad smile in response.

"That's the spirit!"

And so it was that eight hours later they were finally approaching a place he’d only ever seen in pictures or on the television. 

The massive structure that was something of a self-sustained city rose from amidst green hills, and Tony was glad Rhodey was driving the moment a green dragon swooped over their heads to carry off a cow.

“They’re… way bigger in person, holy shit,” Tony gawked without thinking about it. Rhodey only laughed a bit, even as Tony turned to stare at him. “If a green is that big, can you imagine how big a red or a queen are? Like, they must be _ massive! _”

“Well, I’ve never seen a queen, but I saw a brown once. Must’ve been a good 40 feet long. And the wings were a whole other story.” The other man gave a shrug as he headed along the winding road towards the Sanctum, before parking in the small lot at the end of a long bridge.

“We gotta walk from here. We might be able to get a ferrying back afterwards or something to collect your things if you’re good.”

Tony couldn’t even focus on what Rhodey was saying - not when he was seeing several dragons in the distance moving about and flitting between platforms of the Sanctum. It was picture perfect, exactly what he'd envisioned, seen on television and he was finally granted the chance to live one of his dreams for once.

It was the light at the end of his dark tunnel he considered life, which to this point hadn't felt so much like living, rather, existing. 

Tony had merely been clawing and scraping by, his potential held back by fantasies he could never decidedly seek out, so in a sense this was a chance for him to show his hidden potential, show the world what he was worth if it wasn't simply to sit in the shadow of his father's legacy.

"Alright, let's move!" he snapped out of his thoughts as they approached the ferry platforms. There was a horde of excitable green dragons all clustered on a single spire that jutted out of the ground with many different platforms shooting off from different directions.

Tony approached the base of the spire and looked up, some dragons playing with others while most rested and gazed down curiously at the newcomers. One of the dragon ferry masters approached and greeted both of them with a smile, wearing what looked to resemble a monk's regale.

"Would you two like to be ferried across to the Sanctum?" she inquired cheerfully, regarding both of them. Tony was still stunned from the splendour of seeing dragons in real life and they were about to get even closer to them. Rhodey was impressed, but not nearly as awestruck as Tony.

"Yes, my friend and I would like to cross over to the Sanctum to sign him up for the hatching."

The woman gave the two of them a curious look and a nod before turning away. “Loki. Aya. One to the sands and the other to observe?” She glanced at Rhodes who nodded a little as the two riders went to fetch their dragons.

“Once you reach the sands someone there can advise you of how the procedure goes. I’m fairly certain we haven’t seen you here before so I can assume you haven’t done this before.” Pulling a book from her desk she flipped a few pages to pull out a sheet before offering Tony a pen. “Please place your name and date of birth here, and you’ll want to read the page thoroughly. We do need you to be fully informed of the dangers involved in participating in a hatching before you go in.”

Tony procured the contract from her and looked it over, reading some of the warnings. Fatalities, dismemberment, permanent scarring - it was basically the equivalent of the running of the bulls in Spain, except with adorable and very excited baby dragons. While the idea was cute, the thoughts didn't sit well and he read the contract aloud to Rhodes who quirked a brow.

Still, this didn't change Tony's mind on things. He may have for a second paused to understand what the warnings were but outside of that, they'd come this far and he wasn't about to turn around and go back now.

Doing another read-through of the contract he signed his name at the bottom of the page. "You will need to hand that to the ferry master on the other side once across," she took the letter, stamping it with an emblem before closing it into an envelope and setting it in one of the saddlebags of the green dragon Tony was to ride.

"Sounds like it's going to be a real chicken run over there," the ferry master chuckled. "This is where a new adventure begins, and an old one ends. I wish you well Mister Stark"

"Heh, thanks!" Tony smiled. Both Rhodey and he were led to their respective dragons and a couple of helpers came out and aided them in climbing up onto the tacked up dragons.

The black-haired man who offered Tony a hand up gave him a short smile and a little wink. “There are two holds, or you can wrap your arms around my waist. If you’ve never been flying before, I’d recommend the latter.” Reaching back the man gestured to the two handholds. “Otherwise, here and here. You’ll have a better view if you use the handholds, but a lot of people panic their first flight. I promise Hela won’t let you fall.”

Tony had spent a hot moment ogling the drake. He only snapped out of his little stupor when the dragon-rider began instructing him.

"Uh, yeah! Sure, I got all that." He floundered a bit to climb up onto the green hide of the dragon, slipping into the saddle spot behind his ferryman.

The dragon let out a soft snort and seemed almost indifferent about the fact that there was a second rider climbing up onto her back.

"Let me know when you are ready and we will ascend," the other man spoke, his voice carrying an almost British sounding accent that Tony had to admit, was very nice on the ears.

"I'm good to go." 

He gripped onto the handles and took in a deep breath. The man smirked and he beckoned his dragon forward. The beast took off with a running start towards the edge of the wooden docks before her wings began to flap and with a hard spring from the ground, she launched herself skyward.

Tony's stomach was in his throat, it felt like he was on a rollercoaster and unsurprisingly his hands were immediately around his rider's chest, gripping on for dear life.

“So,” the black-haired man began easily, his voice carrying over the wind as the green’s wings spread wide, allowing them to glide towards the building, “looking to imprint on a dragon, are you? It’s going to be a rather exciting experience no matter how it goes. There are only about thirty eggs this clutch and a good hundred and forty-some people looking to imprint. I mean, better odds than winning the lottery, right?”

Tony wasn’t entirely sure that he could speak without throwing up, and the rider seemed to know full well given he kept talking, cool as a cucumber about the whole thing. 

“Better odds than when I was imprinting, you know. There were almost five hundred people at that and it was a mess.” The man’s hand rested on the dragon’s neck for a moment and the green turned her head slightly to look at them, before refocusing forward. “But Hela’s the love of my life. There’s nothing quite like being chosen by a dragon…”

The other man's voice was almost melodic, soft - unlike the wind, which was whipping through his hair as the dragon tore through the sky towards the Sanctum. Their speed, fast enough to make the wind feel like daggers against his skin, or perhaps that was just the cold from the speed they were flying at.

Their flight lasted an _ awfully _ long time. Longer than expected.

It didn't even look like their destination was really that far away. The dragon's path wasn't even a direct one and seemed to veer left and right for no reason, almost as if their rider was doing this _ on purpose. _

One tight bank to the right and Tony yelped, squeezing his arms tighter around his rider, his face was buried in the back of the other man's neck and all he received were loud, boisterous laughs from the man in front of him.

"Having fun are we?" Temporarily abandoning his preamble about the dragons and the hatching process to make sure his passenger was alright with an almost mischievous grin.

Though, Tony couldn't see it.

“Don’t worry. We’re almost there,” the rider crooned, laughing softly as they descended swiftly, leaving his laugh caught on the wind before they rather suddenly seemed to come to a stop. 

The breeze disappeared and the area around them grew darker before Tony opened his eyes. “Here we are. Stephen, this is Mister Stark.” The black-haired man dug through the pouch at Hela’s side before offering him the paper. “His documentation.”

“Thank you Loki,” the other man, Stephen, took the paper to look it over briefly before nodding and tucking it away and offering Tony a hand down. “Mister Stark, let’s get you down and out onto the sands so we can talk about the process, shall we?”

Hela bellowed out a loud roar and stretched her wings. Her feet stepped to the stone and padded in place as she slid down on her haunches to idle and let her passenger down with ease.

Tony felt woozy when the dragon had landed, and he idled on her back a bit before his feet slid off and touched the ground. He almost doubled over, his stomach churning as he felt light-headed and needed a moment to regain his bearings before addressing the other man.

He looked from Loki to Stephen, straightened up his poster and held up a hand. "Oh god, I think I'm good. Yeesh, that was a ride." The poor engineer was ruffled from the flight and he heard a small chortle from Loki as he faced Stephen who didn't seem to display much emotion as he seemed to be sizing Tony up.

"Yeah, sure - let's go. Stephen, was it?" the engineer waited for the other to shake.

The other man gave him a once over then gestured towards a pathway that was lit with curious orbs, ignoring his hand entirely as he did. “This way. I hope your shoes are durable, the sands are quite hot as they help incubate the clutch.” The deep baritone echoed through the hall even as the green and her rider took off again out of the entrance.

Tony frowned and put his hand behind his back. He opted for sticking them in his pockets as he followed Stephen through the hall.

“Hatchings will take anywhere from an hour to three hours,” he began to explain, “during this time there is a high likelihood of injury and a low likelihood of death - but the risk is there. Even if a dragon imprints upon you that may not spare you from injury.” He raised the hand that he’d neglected to shake Tony’s with as they passed a light and deep scars showed down each of his fingers. “Medical personnel will be on hand, but be prepared for the potential violence.”

Stephen paused and gestured to a bin full of still flopping fish, his eyes catching Tony’s briefly. “The hatchlings will be hungry when they’re first hatched. Remember that a hatchling doesn’t necessarily imprint on the first person they see, but rather on someone they feel a certain kinship with - they will understand and intuit that without your help, so if you do not imprint on a dragon that does not necessarily mean there’s anything wrong with you, simply that you may not have been a match for any of the current clutch. Given your age, I would suspect that this is the only chance you’ll get to imprint, however, as the former queen has passed away, and the hatchling will take about five years to reach adulthood.”

This guy was really putting a sour taste in his mouth, he'd rarely met someone so formal and unwelcoming, it was almost as if he was dealing with the men his father associated with. All business and formality, it put a bad taste in Tony's mouth. He did, however, see the scars and opted to inquire about it - of all things to ask about as he's being shown the ropes and told of the hatching process.

"So did your hands get injured in one of the hatchings? Is that what I need to worry about or is that from something else?" He made a weird face as he inserted the question rather arbitrarily into their conversation with absolutely no shame whatsoever.

He was curious.

“Yes. There will be no one on the sands but those of you looking for a partner amidst the hatchlings. I was injured during my own imprinting. Levi was hungry and over exuberant in his desire to meet me. He crushed both of my hands and cut up part of my arm fairly easily. They’re babies, don’t forget that. They don’t know any better and they’re hungry and enthusiastic. They don’t realize that they’re strong and dangerous. Their claws tend to be the cause of most fatalities as they attempt to clamour over people seeking the one they’re feeling. If you don’t want to be hurt, do not crowd them. They will push and try to get through others to reach the person they’ve chosen and crowding them is the most likely to cause you to get hurt.”

The rider folded his arms as he turned to face Tony, looking pointedly at the bin of fish. “You _ are _ attempting to imprint on a dragon, aren’t you? You’ll need a fish. To feed them.”

Tony was a shadow as Stephen spoke, quiet and attentive as he was informed of the events to come. He'd deemed the answer he received to satisfy his concern as he stepped attentively beside Stephen. He regarded the bin of fish and made a discontented face at the sharp, sour aroma it seemed to waft.

"An ill-fated injury, but it sounds like someone really wanted to meet you." The corner of Tony's mouth quirked up in a wry smile. "So how much will a whelpling eat, how much will I need to have when the hatching starts?"

“There’s nothing ill-fated about it. I lost my hands, I gained wings and a friendship and bond that can never be replaced. Trading my hands for that? I got the better deal.” The man smiled softly for a moment, before shaking his head. “As to the hatchlings, they’ll require a lot, but for the hatching you only need one fish. Once imprinted and the hatching finishes, hatchlings and their riders will be taken for proper feeding.” 

"Right, ok so it's basically the running of the bulls and each and every one of the people out in the sands is holding the equivalent of a big fat target." The engineer chortled softly.

He understood the insides and outs of the process, now it was all a matter of waiting. "Maybe I'll get lucky and imprint on a big red," Tony's inflection sounded a bit cocky but was more supposed to be playful.

Stephen offered a smirk in response. “Hm. If you imprint at all I’m sure you’ll feel lucky. But you certainly sound like a red rider, talking like that. Take your fish, let’s get to the sands so I can explain the last of things.”

He turned and headed further down the hallway to where the stone became golden sands, and then finally into a massive cave. It was vaguely egg-shaped itself and while the entire first level of it was hot and covered in the golden sands and eggs, the full cavern had many things to look at.

Eggs lay mostly upright in one spot, gathered together like there was no issue, and off to the side a separate egg - larger than the rest - sat amidst a circle of young women who appeared to be anywhere from 16 to 25. Tony knew enough about dragons and hatchings to know that meant a queen was in the large egg that came up to the waist of the tallest girl in the circle. On the sands Stephen simply guided him to where others his age and younger were gathered, talking about the eggs or simply staring at them eagerly.

Unlike the queen egg, there was no real telling what the rest of the eggs might contain - they were all approximately the same size and had an oddly iridescent sheen to them that the television had never really picked up. They reflected back some of the gold of the sands but otherwise seemed to twinkle and sparkle in the light. 

The rider leading him stopped as he gestured to a spot. On one side of him a young man sat with his large fish across his lap, taking notes in a notebook about the eggs by the looks of it, and above them, circling the entire length of the room were balconies. On the lowest tier of them, he could see Rhodey sitting and waving wildly at him before giving him a pair of thumbs up. A few people in medical garb also stood in that tier, clearly prepared for those who may be injured in the process, and others were hanging over the edge - parents chatting to youths who were on the sands. They weren’t very high up, really, the tier itself was only about eight feet above the sands.

Tony's neck craned to look around the room. He'd waved back to Rhodey and flashed him a double thumbs-up as he started to blaze a trail through the sand.

The next tier he couldn’t exactly tell much about, but the people all appeared to be dressed in the garb of the Sanctum, robes of deep blue, green, red and brown as per various preferences. But it was the top tier that caught his eye most prominently: sparkling eyes twisted with various colours depicting the emotions of the dragons who loomed in their spot, their riders seated or standing near them to stare down upon the sands in interest.

More than anything else there seemed to be a collection of reds and their riders watching the queen egg and chatting amidst themselves - from this distance, it was hard to say how big the dragons themselves were, but when he saw them beside the blues it was a rather marked difference in size.

As he stepped farther from the arena entrance he could feel the heat rising, it hit like a wave all at once with how drastically different the air temperature was from the air on the exterior.

He continued through the sands, trudging over the dunes that he'd sunken into up to his ankles. He definitely wasn't dressed properly for this, and his shoes quickly became sand-logged by the time he made it to the crowd of people in the middle of the room.

His toes twitched uncomfortably as coarse sand seeped into his socks making his feet feel uncomfortably dry and chafed. "Great..." He mumbled sourly.

Stephen had long left his side and he stood around awkwardly though he did feel a strong somberness as he looked upon the many parents that had come to root and cheer for their young one's success and safety. It was all rather touching, but only dredged up his own feelings of anxiety towards memories of how his father was completely averse to his dreams and how his mother wasn't even around.

He saw what went on, and wished he had a family like that. All this time he'd been alone and he was mostly fine until he was presented so many different families, sisters, brothers that all loved each other and gave support to one another.

He shook his head, this wasn't the time to be down - plus he had Rhodey here. Rhodey was there to support him and this was potentially the beginning of a journey. If anything, he should be excited.

He soon found his smile, tossing his fish in his hand as he took his place on the sands and waited for the ceremony to begin, eyes focused on the opalescent eggs nestled comfortably in the sands.

It was nearly two hours and more people had filled the sands - there might have been about 200 of them there now in total, though there was enough space that nothing felt even remotely crowded. Tony was just beginning to find himself bored when it began. 

An egg rocked into another, and a hush fell over the crowd. He could peripherally see the shadows of the dragons above shifting, but Tony found his eyes fully fixed on the eggs.

In the quiet and stillness, the first crack of an egg hatching sounded impossibly loud - and then chaos broke out. A loud cry sounded as a brown nose pushed its way out of an egg and eagerly a large gathering of people shoved their way forward towards the hatching eggs. He couldn’t hear the cracking anymore, and while he could still see some of the eggs, they weren’t the first thing on his mind after a moment.

A blue hatchling’s claws caught on one of the crowded boy’s legs, tearing it dramatically open as the blue scrambled past the crowd and towards where Tony stood, still and surprised. He couldn’t help the disappointment when it wound up nosing at the boy who had been drawing beside him earlier, though the boy’s expression of awe and wonder was heartwarming enough to ease some of the ache.

Still, there were other dragons.

Screams sounded from the main crowd of hopefuls as other dragons pushed their way past the main crowd and towards those waiting in the wings as they’d been told. The sands in the middle were beginning to look uncomfortably red, and Tony took a few uneasy steps to the side, before jolting a bit as he saw what looked like it might have been entrails caught on one of the red hatchlings’ claws. He nuzzled up to a hopeful and began his feasting on the fish, and Tony could barely keep himself from throwing up as he twisted and made his way away from that particular sight.

Tony drew back, repulsed as he saw someone crying while a blue and a brown stepped over them. Others were knocked down in the cacophony of cheers and cries. It was almost a daze with the mix of screams as eggs began to hatch and burst by the second as if set off in a chain reaction. 

Tony feared maybe he was not close enough, he may not draw in a dragon - his anxiety spiking despite being told that the imprinting process was wholly reliant on the rider and the dragon bonding spiritually. 

Proximity favoured no one.

Tony Stark wasn't about to die to reach his dream, no, that wasn't what this was all about. He retreated from the masses entirely and fell back behind the crowd. 

Some eggs didn't hatch, they remained still while some gentler dragons nosed their way through the crowd despite grasping and grappling hands from some of the other hopefuls. A pair of reds broke free of their shells and Tony locked eyes with a brilliant ruby scaled dragon.

It began to slowly approach him and his heart skipped a beat. He took a step closer and the red began to charge towards him without any signs of stopping.

"Fuck this!" Tony dove out of its trajectory as it went to a rider who like himself, had the same idea of standing away from the epicentre. 

He'd fallen into the sand, looking up disheartened as the red was united with its new rider. Most of the eggs by this point had hatched, those that hadn't didn't move or make a sound.

_ Stillborns. _

He picked himself up off the sands, arms chafed and burnt by the heat of the dunes and he brushed himself off, looking over the red streaks from his sustained injury of diving.

Guess that was that.

He sighed, the pit of his stomach sinking as he looked up to Rhodes and his best friend mirrored the melancholy expression he wore. The hatching was pretty much done and he had not imprinted on a single one of the hatchlings.

He would return to the city-empty handed. And as the rider from earlier had said - he’d be too old to partake in another such hatching. This had been his one chance - his _ only _ chance of breaking free from Howard’s grasp and living his dream.

The medical staff slowly began to descend into the sands to help the injured, pulling some onto stretchers, and others being wrapped up and bandaged on-site, with still others simply being corralled away. Those who remained slowly began to make their way up to the tier above where family and friends waited, but it took time and Tony saw no need to rush, watching the new riders with their young whelps and allowing himself to imagine what it would be like.

Some were clearly still injured and seemed perfectly unaware of that in their blissful states, touching the not-yet hardened scales of the young dragons. He was so intent on his observations that when it happened it came across almost surreal.

Heads seemed to turn quickly, the dragons first before the young riders followed suit, and the hush descended again, broken only by the pained noises of those being tended to, or unable to be tended to.

Then he heard it. Another crack.

Whiskey eyes turned to follow the direction of the sound and to his pleasure he at least had a good vantage point to watch as the large egg housing the queen rocked, cracking again. The young women gathered there looked nervously amidst one another after the display that had been put on before on the sands, but the moment the keening noise sounded from the egg they each moved in their own way. Some forward, others away, a couple holding out the fish at arm’s length as though it might appease the creature.

He could barely see the queen amidst the women and when he heard the girl nearest him give out a loud scream he winced, flinching in discomfort for her before the queen made herself plainly obvious, swirling, multifaceted eyes searching around the room. The circle of women was broken at the injury, some of the girls dropping their fish entirely, but Tony’s attention was focused on the golden beast who took a few awkward, rather adorably toddling steps towards him.

He didn’t know why at first - his hand raised and he offered the fish to the young queen, whose head cocked slightly, focusing on the fish before looking at him. And then everything hit him in a rush.

_ <I am Friday.> _ The feminine voice in his head stated clearly. < _ I am very hungry…> _ The words were a soft whine that seemed to echo outwardly, though it was hard to get a grasp on anything.

He felt the hunger. But also joy and contentment. She took the fish from him and sniffed at his hands before giving each of them a lick as though to clean them of the smell that had enticed her. <_ Is there more? I’m really very hungry…> _

Tears welled up in Tony’s eyes as he felt the love and warmth flood through him, the complete trust and adoration. The wonder at how something so precious could have chosen him. A connection had formed, one that rivalled that of a mother holding her newborn child.

His hand touched at her scales, surprised to find them considerably softer than he’d anticipated even knowing they wouldn’t have hardened yet. Her head easily met his height as a series of contented blues and curious greens flickered through her eyes, communicating worlds more than he ever could have expected.

His arms flung around her neck as he held her tightly and she gave a pleased and confused grumble at the action.

“Friday… it’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Tony…”

_ <Tony,> _ she responded easily, the grumbling in her neck feeling like a soothing purr, < _ it’s nice to meet you. Can we eat now? Please? I’m really so very hungry…> _

Nothing else in the room mattered, but he found himself chuckling and nodding. “Yeah, let’s find you something to eat, baby girl… there was a whole bin of fish earlier, I bet they have something real nice around just for you…”

Tony pulled away from the gold but kept a hand gently perched on her front right haunch as he walked alongside the golden beauty. He looked up at Rhodey who had just as exuberantly cheered when the wonderful golden dragon had connected with him, taking pictures on his phone and hollering loudly. Though something about this seemed to be a little off.

Tony didn't quite know why, but a veil of silence blanketed the chamber and only Rhodey's excited pitch could be heard among the growing murmurs and soft mumbling among the people.

All eyes were on Tony and Friday, and he started to grow uneasy as he slowly led his beautiful queen forward. Something felt wrong, people weren't cheering for him and as he scanned the audience all he could discern was the look of disturbance, bewilderment and confusion on the face of the masses.

What happened? Had he done something wrong? Why the hell was everyone staring at him like that?!

Of all the people he saw fixated on him he specifically identified Stephen, Loki and another oriental looking male who was much more heavy set. 

Stephen had a look of stoicism on his face, while Loki simply looked as if he'd just witnessed an anomaly. The other man, however, had a stone disposition and he was now walking towards Tony to escort him over to the feeding room.

He stopped in front of Tony and looked the man up and down, then at the dragon. "I am Wong, let me show you to the feeding chambers." He said nothing more than that and turned to guide them.

Tony followed.

The silence was building up like an elephant in the room, strangling, asphyxiating and Tony could literally feel the air around him thick and palpable. He dared to ask, "Wong?" The man made a sound of acknowledgement slowing his pace.

"Yes, Tony?"

"Why is everyone… looking at me like I just desecrated a sacred monument?" Tony kept his words hushed as he tried to ignore the heaviness in the room but it was slowly becoming too overbearing.

"Your situation is quite peculiar, never has a gold, a queen, imprinted on a male before."

“Oh…” that was all he could think to say. He had no idea how else to respond to that. 

He was an oddity. 

And there was something special about queens, wasn’t there? Aside from them being the largest of the dragons and the only dragons who laid eggs… There was definitely something he felt like he’d forgotten.

<_ Food! _> the voice chimed in his head and in moments Friday disappeared forward to sink her face into a large pond utterly teeming with fish. She made quite a sight splashing around, shoving her nose and foreclaws into the water to try and catch her meal.

Whatever he’d forgotten remained forgotten as he simply allowed himself to bask in the pleasure of watching the excitable young dragon.

* * *

Stephen’s brows furrowed deeply as he considered what he’d just witnessed. His hand rested on his dragon’s side for a moment before he climbed up onto him and shook his head. “The library please, Levi.”

<_ Unusual things are afoot, _ > Levi grumbled softly at him and adjusted to take off into the skies. < _ Are we not going to greet the newcomers? _>

“We’ll greet them another time. The unusual things are more of a priority right now. You don’t have any recollection of something like this happening either, do you?” He inquired as the dragon ascended the Sanctum towards the library.

<_ No. Does it really matter that she chose a male rider? _>

“You know I don’t like puzzles like this, Levi. There has to be something on the books… perhaps he’s in the midst of a transition? Did you sense anything like that from him?”

<_ You’re overthinking all of this, Stephen. Regardless of what you find, Friday’s rider is a male. You’ll have to live with that. _>

“You still mean to mate her, naturally…?” Stephen sighed to himself a little.

<_ You’re asking questions you already know the answer to. The queen will rise. I intend to catch her. _>

Stephen sighed to himself heavily even as Levi landed on the ledge outside the library. This wasn’t exactly how things were supposed to go.

Levi was right, of course. No matter what answers he found, it wouldn’t change the fact that the queen had chosen her rider. There was nothing more to be done about it. That didn’t sate his desire for answers. It didn’t diminish his curiosity.

It was an idea he’d just have to get used to.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	2. Chapter 2

It had only been a week since Tony had decided to completely abandon his entire lifestyle in pursuit of becoming a Sanctum dragon rider. His father found it a fool’s dream while his friend was in full support of him. With a heavy mind, those seemed to be variables that weighed on his mind and often occupied his thoughts.

Wong had been the most prominent of the riders to show him the ropes after the hatching, and he was told that it was crucial to spend time with the dragon and bond with Friday just as a mother would with her newborn child. 

The odd looks people gave him as he waltzed through the halls with the queen at his side didn't seem to be as overbearing as it had been at the very start, but people still regarded him much differently than others and put distance between themselves and him.

Not only was he male, but neither was he Sanctum born, which was how Wong had put it. And he could come to understand the jealousy and outrage that hung over some of the riders' heads while those that were big enough, could look past it.

Still, Tony didn't have any friends here. Save for Friday.

Friday was his crowning jewel, the light of his life, she really was all that - a monarch of the highest order and he did everything in his power to care for her and make sure she had everything she needed. 

Spending time with her wasn't a chore but rather a blessing and honour, and he was absolutely in love with the dragon. She would discern when he was feeling dispirited and be right there to cheer him up, gaze up at him with those glass azure eyes of hers, and every time he looked back he felt the connection with his queen permeate his heart and fill him with nothing but pure unconditional love.

Tony was absolutely smitten.

For a whelp she had knowledge beyond her years, she spoke and communicated as if she was of his own age, but yet she was just newly hatched. It was beyond amazing how such a young drake could comprehend such extensive language at this age and the world around it. He was told that dragons had a very basic shared memory and that often they learned many things from their ancestors that way - such as how to communicate, how much firestone they needed, and many natural foods that weren’t good for their diets. They also had an innate sense of extradimensional and otherworldly threats and didn’t require nearly as much coaxing to learn to blink between locations as their riders.

Today, in particular, was the final day of the maternity rest for the dragons and their riders, and soon enough Tony would be introduced to the rider he would be studying under and he hoped to god he got someone that didn't have a stick up their ass about his situation.

“Your ride is here,” Wong nudged him with a look of amusement as the absolutely massive red dragon descended on their learning space, blocking out the sun with his wings before tucking them in against his side and bowing his head to nudge at Wong briefly.

With the sun no longer making him seem like a giant shadow creature, it was easier to appreciate the beauty of the deep ruby scales the dragon bore, glinting in the afternoon sun as his head dropped even lower past Tony to greet his queen, closing his eyes and laying down entirely as though in reverence. His eyes opened once more to inspect Tony, and though he didn’t lift his head there was much to take in.

His eyeball alone had to be the size of Tony’s ribcage, and yet for how big he was, he seemed far from intimidating. Almost docile. Friday gave a pleased chirp at the dragon lifting herself onto her hind legs to flap her still translucent wings at him and the large dragon responded with a low croon, before lifting his head.

< _ I like him, _ > Friday decided, settling back onto all four legs before sitting. < _ He is well-mannered. _ >

“This is Levi,” Wong stated once the dragons had finished their little introduction. “He’s the largest of the reds in the Sanctum currently. His rider will be instructing you on the things you’ll need to know about becoming a Sanctum leader when Friday rises. I will still be your primary instructor where caring for Friday is concerned, at least for the next little while, but they’ll fill you in more further once you get wherever Levi is taking you.”

"Whoah-WHOAH - slow down a bit, Sanctum leader? Where did this come from?! I just got here a week ago and already you're anointing me with some crazy future responsibility?!" Maybe Wong looked like he was squinting in displeasure at the response he'd gotten from Tony, but the engineer really couldn't tell.

"Did you expect to become a dragon rider and just fly around the Sanctum willy-nilly like it was some kind of dressage?" Wong paused leaving a moment for Tony to speak. Tony's mouth opened again to articulate his response but Wong cut him off before he could get the sound of his first word out. "You have responsibilities to the Sanctum, Tony, and as the queen's rider, the matriarch of all dragons - it is your responsibility to lead by her side, absolutely." The training master almost laughed.

"I..." Tony bit the inside of his cheek and was about to once again respond but soon enough felt the back of his robes cinch and he was lifted up off the ground. 

"Whoah- hey!" He looked behind him to see the proud red lifting him up, the thing almost looked like it was smirking. "This is not what I had in mind when you mentioned this was my ride, Wong!" Tony looked back at him and the master actually cracked a smile.

Friday was spinning around at Levi's feet, clawing at his ankles to be brought up, flapping her wings excitedly as she peered up with those adorable blue eyes and chirped excitedly.

_ <Me next! Me next! Tony, wait for me, let me up!> _ She'd jump up on her hind legs and spun, rolling around. Levi created a ramp out of his wing for her to climb up onto his back and she nestled herself into the divot of his spines, curling up and holding on as she peered up at Tony, her small belly breathing in quickly from the heightened heart rate at her excitement.

She looked just too damn adorable and as always - beautiful. Especially now that Levi's ruby-red scales reflected off her soft hide like a molten gold mirror.

Large wings spread out, spanning a massive distance across the training grounds and the dragon beneath him gave a low grumble before Wong waved, smirking to himself. “Hold tight! And good luck!”

In moments they were in the air and continuing to ascend the spire towards a platform near the peak of the Sanctum’s tower. It was a short flight - wings as large as Levi’s made the progress easy enough and the landing was fairly smooth. The wings spread out widely and bowed low to allow Tony and Friday to use them as a more dignified path to the ground than the method that had been used to lift Tony up to begin with.

Friday waited, watching Tony for a moment before sliding over the large dragon’s scales slightly and scooting carefully along the dragon’s wing to skitter a little awkwardly to the grass below with a quiet huff.  _ <There’s a man here,> _ she informed him well before he was able to see the other, though the familiar man came into view as Levi lowered his head to greet the rider considerably more affectionately than he’d greeted them.

Stephen gave the massive red maw a couple of firm pats before offering a small bow to the little queen. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Friday,” he stated quietly, before straightening to focus on Tony, sharp features accented by the acute gaze of his eyes. 

“Tony. Welcome,” it didn’t  _ sound _ welcoming in the slightest. “There’s a lot to learn, so shall we get comfortable and settle in?”

Stephen's voice sounded much colder than it had ever been. Unlike the first day when the man simply seemed detached and most of all, neutral - now he felt as if the rider had a chip on his shoulder and he could only assume that this pompous douchebag had a gripe against him because of Friday.

"Wow, I could really feel the love in that one, Stephen." Tony frowned and his arms were crossed over his chest. Friday dashed over to Stephen immediately, tripping over her own feet and tumbling but that clumsiness soon turned into grace when she rolled over her head doing a complete forward somersault and rolling back onto her feet again.

_ <New friend, who is this?! Did you say  _ ** _Stephen?_ ** _ > _ She squealed in a series of loud chirps and dashed around his legs, jumping up to pad her forepaws on the front of his tunic with an open maw that almost looked like a smile the way her mouth curled up.  _ <Hi!> _

Tony's scowl was unfortunately undermined by the bright little ball of gold that was his beautiful queen.

Stephen seemed briefly taken aback by the young dragon, even he wasn’t impervious to her excitement as he gave her a rather soft smile, looking to Levi for a moment in question as the large red gave a yawn and laid himself down, tucking his wings in against himself. The red rider took a moment before tenderly brushing at Friday’s cheeks a little and sighing.

“I’m sure you have questions. There’s a lot to talk about. Levi says you had inquiries about your role here as a Sanctum leader so I can only assume that means you don’t know what responsibilities come naturally to those who imprint upon a queen,” Stephen looked to Tony briefly. “We can remain out on the grass for this lesson if you’d like.”

A swirling blue dragon’s eye opened again as the red adjusted himself and stretched out his tail to create something to lean against. 

Friday was satisfied with the amount of attention she'd received and Tony just idly watched as the matriarch of the Sanctum scampered around a bit until she perched herself in the nook between Levi's arm and chest, curling up and attentively watching the master and future Sanctum leader. Every so often craning her neck to look up at Levi curiously. 

_ <I really like him!> _ she peeped at him and it almost sounded like a half bark.

"Naturally, yes. Wong tells me I'm the future Sanctum leader and I feel like I've been hit in the head with a cartoon anvil," Tony felt almost a little peeved off. Half from the fact that he was sprung this sudden information which he hadn't planned on and the second with how starkly different Stephen's attitude was towards the dragons and himself.

"I didn't sign up for this," Tony sounded more stressed out than angry at this point. "Can't someone else step in and lead in my place? Someone more educated and qualified than me who actually wants to?" Tony anxiously tapped his fingers along his arm.

Levi made some sort of rumbling noise in response to Friday’s peeping, curling his neck around to rest his head near where she’d tucked her head, his eyes watching her, colours changing with his various moods as he seemed to socialize with her in some manner that was inaudible to Tony. Friday’s continued chittering was the only indication he had that the two were socializing otherwise.

“The role will not be yours to handle alone,” Stephen assured him as he sat near the base of Levi’s tail and leaned against it, gesturing for Tony to join him. “A queen’s rider is always going to become a Sanctum leader. Their partner in that position is the rider whose dragon catches the queen during their mating flight - typically that’s the largest red dragon as they have the strength and endurance to keep up with a queen where others will not necessarily. In this case, that rider is me. 

“Friday is a few years off from rising however - it’ll still be at least a year before she’s able to fly, and about four or five years until she’s fully matured and able to mate. So you have about five years to get a handle on what’s going on around here. Queens typically choose women who are  _ not _ Sanctum born as their riders and we have had many phenomenal Sanctum Leaders in the past, so I have faith you’ll grasp the fundamentals quickly enough.”

"Well, you sound sure of yourself on that one. No disrespect for your compadre over here, but what makes you so certain that  _ you _ will be the leader? You're not the only red dragon rider here and from what I’ve heard, it's a race." Tony followed Stephen's lead and gave Levi a pat on his neck as he walked by. "No offence red, I like you." 

He took a seat down on the ground in front of Stephen, resting the weight of his head as he propped it up with his arm. "Five years doesn't sound too bad, but who says I necessarily want to do it?" he let out a steady breath, promptly switching the subject. 

“I’m not the only one educated in becoming a Sanctum leader around, but Levi is half a metre larger than any other dragon in the Sanctum at the moment. We’re also one of the better teams in the Sanctum. The largest dragon has the best chance of catching the queen as queens are larger than any other dragon. Most smaller dragons lack the speed and endurance to last a mating flight…”

"And what is this 'rising' you're talking about, or 'mating flight'?" Tony reached down to pluck a piece of grass out of the dirt and start rolling it between his fingers.

Stephen sighed a little, shaking his head as he looked away. “I’m surprised you came to imprint on a dragon without knowing about mating flights in advance… queen dragons, as you said, will have a race to mate, of a sort. When they ‘rise’ the race itself begins. All dragons, whether they’re likely to catch the queen or able to mate with her at all, will rise to join her. During these flights, most dragons will fall away. Greens, as the only other female dragons, will tend to hang behind and take it slowly as dragons who cannot fly fast enough or for long enough will seek out greens to mate during the flight.

“Typically only a red will mate a queen - the larger the dragon, the better their chances. That said, historically there have been a couple of rather large browns that have managed to catch a queen. It depends on both the size of the dragon and their intelligence.” Stephen cast Tony a rather pointed smirk, “and anyone in the Sanctum can tell you that Levi is the smartest red they’ve seen in generations.”

Tony cast an unrepentant look at Stephen, it almost felt like the rider was stroking his own damn ego with how many times he brought up how 'big' Levi was, and he could count three.

Three god damn times Stephen had talked about  _ Levi's size. _

It wasn't like he could argue though since he didn't know much about anything of the Sanctum’s inner workings. There were nuances to this place, details he'd forgotten about since he was a child.

_ This guy, I swear... _

"So then what does that necessarily mean for us if your big ride does manage to catch Friday? I know we both get crowned king and queen of the prom, but does that mean we're basically corralled into some arranged marriage?" Tony's attention snapped to Friday as he heard a loud chirp. When he looked over she was on her back, flapping her wings while Levi was prodding her stomach with the tip of his snout.

He couldn't help but smile at that moment.

Stephen gave a small shrug at that. “Something like that. We fuck. We’re labelled Sanctum leaders. That’s about it. There’s no marriage or commitment to each other involved. Levi and Friday would remain mated until the next time she rises, though it’s common that mated pairs will remain together regardless. Still, if for some reason Levi cannot catch her again, then the process would repeat with someone else in my place.”

His hand rested on Levi’s tail for a moment and the dragon lifted his head briefly, giving a soft snort before looking at Tony and nuzzling Friday’s belly again with the end of his nose. Friday responded with a sense of glee that Tony could feel resonating in his heart despite not feeling gleeful personally.

“Of course, regardless of whether Levi catches Friday or not, the process is the same. Your position in it doesn’t change and I’m still uniquely qualified to teach you. I’m afraid the former queen rider is… no longer capable of mentoring you. So the duty falls to me.”

Tony frowned and turned his face a little as his eyebrows furrowed. He looked like he'd just bitten into a lemon.

"I'm sorry - what?" His nose scrunched up indignantly in response to how cooly the answer had been delivered. "You do know there are better, much more tactful ways of asking someone out. And while I like to wet my whistle as much as the next dude, the standard 'ritual' generally begins with a date and not just skipping to romping around like a couple of rabbits in spring." Tony let out a snort, staring Stephen down.

Stephen returned his stare rather coolly. “You really don’t know anything about Sanctum culture, do you? I guess it’s time to start with the very  _ basics  _ then, so you can get an idea. When Friday is old enough to rise for mating, you won’t have much of a choice in the matter. It has a big impact on why the Sanctums are so far away from towns, cities and villages, and we’re a mostly self-contained and self-reliant system.

“Dragons are telepathic, empathic, and capable of many more things besides but during mating flights their emotions are so strong and resonate so loudly that humans - riders and non-riders alike - tend to respond similarly. If the Sanctums were built near cities, there would be influxes of sexual activity amidst a wide variety of individuals and it would be a mess. The two villages closest to us are always informed prior to a mating flight so that they can prepare in the event that the flight path takes the dragons their way.

“For riders, given our natural connection with the dragons, one tends to… lose their sense of self. There’s a oneness that riders feel with our dragons in those moments. You stop being you. You simply act on their feelings. Sexuality doesn’t play a part in it, nor personal preferences. I assure you, you wouldn’t be my first choice, either.”

"Glad to know the feeling's mutual," Tony snorted in displeasure. 

Tony would consider himself bisexual with a strong female preference, but that didn't mean he was going to hop in bed with the next man that showed tail to him. Especially not this pompous asshole who really thought he knew everything and seemed to act like he was just all that and a bag of potato chips.

"So this all turns into one big sexcapade by the sounds of it, sounds like frosh week at MIT." The hair of grass he'd been rolling in his fingers tore and the corner of his mouth continued to sit in a scowl.

“I wouldn’t know about that. But it’s certainly a rather large sexual adventure that no one remembers details of in the morning. At least not the details of their own encounters. Regardless, this is nothing like a marriage. There is no dedication to one another, you and whomever it is are free to go your separate ways after. I suppose for you this is especially lucky as there’s no concern for pregnancy. You and the rider of whomever mates Friday will run the Sanctum, each of you with different duties. Currently, there are no Sanctum leaders. I’m simply a master, and everyone has their duties regardless. Wong has been a master for those with young dragons since before I was born. Your duties will, luckily for you, never change, as Friday will be the only gold in the Sanctum.”

Stephen shook his head as he turned his head to watch Friday and Levi playing. It was rather sweet how gentle the older dragon was being with her, nudging her belly, capturing her tail and allowing her to break free again, slathering her head in a full lick that left the young dragon chortling in amusement and pleasure.

Pushing himself to his feet Stephen brushed out his robes and turned to Tony. “I suppose you haven’t gotten the proper tour yet. We’re near where the Sanctum leaders’ quarters are now and thus where you’ll eventually be residing once Friday’s scales have hardened.”

Tony squinted at Stephen as soon as the man turned his back.

Ok, maybe it wasn't terrible, at least he wouldn't be married to some stranger. If it really came to it, he could deal with a one-night stand, especially if he wouldn't even remember it in the morning. It was akin to being blackout drunk and the only thing he'd have to worry about is that not-so-walk of shame they'd both have to do in the morning.

"So what are my responsibilities when that day eventually comes to pass?" Tony gave one more passing glance at Friday before following after Stephen. She was content to play with her 'betrothed' making soft squeaks and chirps as she got up on her hind legs and tried to nip at one of Levi's horns with his head down at her level.

He took a hop and a skip to catch up to Stephen, he didn't like the guy at all but he still needed to put up with him to be the best that he could be for this responsibility that was suddenly thrown on him.

“Immediately after will be a very different situation as Friday will begin brooding shortly after. Her scales will begin to shed and she’ll require a lot of care. Her belly will become somewhat vulnerable, and her mate will become highly protective of her. He will do the hunting to keep her fed and will gather water for her as necessary. But it will be up to you to maintain her cleanliness. This is all something I’ll teach you once her scales begin to harden. 

“The duties that will fall to you after that are more in line with the care and maintenance of the Sanctum. You will also be a representative of the Sanctum so it will be up to you to maintain certain appearances. Typically the gold rider will make appearances during events held at the Sanctum, while the red rider will make the trips away from the Sanctum as required. In the meantime, it’ll be important for you to familiarize yourself with the Sanctum. It’s quite large so I expect it to take a long while for you to get used to where everything is - plus it’s a long walk and Friday isn’t nearly ready to fly yet. I’ll show you what I can and we’ll see about whether Levi will agree to help you get places as necessary.”

The taller man stopped in front of a door and hesitated a moment before pushing it open and gesturing for Tony to follow as he moved into the surprisingly bright space. A large opening sat on the back wall - certainly larger than even the red dragon sitting outside - presumably to allow a dragon to exist inside the large space with it’s vaulted ceilings that could have easily been a good four tall floors high. Being fair, the quarters were massive in every meaning of the word. Massive windows, massive spaces, a massive bathing room with a massive heated pool. Even the bedroom had a slightly less massive bed - not dragon-sized, but still large enough he could imagine Friday at her current size sprawling across it and still leaving plenty of room for him to sprawl as well.

"So is this where Friday and I will be staying from now?" Tony looked around the room. He felt like he was standing in a cathedral, the room, in no better words was vast and expansive. It was nice to literally get the royal treatment but was kind of lonely on its own. Rather than sharing a ward or a dormitory with other riders, he was secluded here.

At least Friday would be with him.

"This place wasn't exactly built for someone to walk around in, I'd hope as the rider of the future queen I'd at least have some assistance getting around here considering I'm not 'Sanctum born' as people like to politely remind me."

“You won’t be staying here until Friday’s scales harden and she’s able to fly. It would take you hours to get here on your own,” Stephen gave a soft sigh, running a hand into his hair. “With that said, Levi has offered to aid you in reaching the various areas of the Sanctum until Friday is old enough to show you herself. He’ll be helping show us both around soon enough. But this is where you can expect to start staying eventually, yes. The bedroom is as large as it is to allow for partnered riders to share if needed, but the quarters expand into a second apartment that can be kept entirely separate if the riders so choose.”

"Thank god for that," Tony murmured as he followed the other on his tour.

Turning again, the man waved for Tony to follow after him as he made his way out of the quarters again and making his way along the long walkway back towards the grassy platform the dragons were playing on. Levi had risen to his feet and seemed to be playing some sort of game of tag with the smaller dragon, his tail lashing around in his excitement as he grumbled at the small, precious golden creature. Rather than joining the dragons, however, Stephen pushed open a door across the walkway from them and waved Tony in.

“This will be a place you’ll spend a lot of time, I’m sure,” and it was no wonder Stephen said that. This was the largest library Tony had ever seen. Five floors of shelves lined with books towered above them with vast openings that allowed for tables and chairs to be set around it. There were no openings for the dragons to get in here, instead the back wall boasted tall stained-glass windows displaying the various colours of dragons cast an array of colours into the room. It was well lit but still smelled musty and old. There wasn’t a computer to be seen.

“The first floor contains many texts about the care of dragons and the history of the New York Sanctum, though you can also find some books on the histories of the other Sanctums located here. The texts become more advanced as you ascend the floors, so do keep that in mind. This library is exclusive to riders, which is why it’s as high up in the Sanctum as it is. I’m sure you can imagine what a pain it would be to have to walk all the way up here to borrow a book. There’s another library elsewhere in the Sanctum that is more general access and contains more fiction and light reading.”

The room was much more serene than the living quarters had been. The light that filtered in through the mosaic stained-glass elegantly lit the reading areas and tables as if it was strategically set up that way. It carried with it the comforting musty smell of books and faint mothballs as he walked around the tables and eyed the cascading shelves of books all the way to the tops.

Reading wouldn't be hard, Tony was confident he'd be a master of dragon care in the first few days. He was an exceptionally fast learner, a prodigy if others were to be believed. He was ready to put his mind to the task and he could easily master any field he was diving into and invested passionately in.

"Quaint and rustic," the quiet comment came, but his voice carried through the barreled chambers up to his soft breaths. He turned back to Stephen who was gesturing to leave the library now. "I approve!"

“Good. As I said, you’ll spend plenty of time here. Come now, if you think you can manage another ride with Levi we’ve got a few more places we need to go. If you accept Levi’s offer to help you get to the various floors you’ll be able to instruct him where you’re headed. He knows this place as well as any Sanctum born.” Approaching the red, Stephen’s smile softened again even as the dragon took a pause from playing with Friday to greet his rider, hardly seeming to care as the little golden dragon attached herself to his tail and attempted to chew on it. The dragon’s scales apparently did the job of protecting him well enough that Levi didn’t seem to notice.

“Shall we spend some time today teaching Friday to swim? The dragons seem to enjoy the pool during the heat, and it’s a good place for her to bathe. You’re naturally welcome to join them but if you feel a need to change first we can swing around to the hatchling residence for you to grab what you need.”

Whatever irritation Tony had towards Stephen seemed to fade away in the presence of the other dragons. It was almost as if it was impossible to even be angry when he was looking at Friday, she just had that effect on him.

"Yeah, I'd rather change into something more appropriate for the water." The whelpling trundled over to her rider immediately when Tony and Stephen returned. She took a running charge at him and Tony held up a hand in panic. "Ah-ah-ah! Slow!" She didn't slow, and barreled into his chest, knocking him flat on his back and possibly the wind out of him.

He coughed and looked up at the golden dragon, now draped on his chest.  _ <I missed you, Tony, where did you go?> _ she tilted her head, chirruping at him curiously with her big eyes. 

_ <Stephen was showing me around the Sanctum baby-girl. He also wants to take you swimming, you'll need to get off of me though.> _ He gently pet the sides of her stomach, her paws were sprawled straight out so his head was caged between them and pressed up against her breast.

She wiggled a bit and then moved off of her rider so Tony could stand again.

_ Nope, still couldn't be mad. _

Levi laid down and Stephen climbed onto his back without hesitation, watching Tony and the young queen with a brief flicker of amusement as he hummed. “Shall we then?”

The red dragon extended his wing again to give them something of a ramp to work with once more, laying his head near Tony to help get him to his feet again with a soft grumble.

Tony used Levi's spines as holds to climb up onto the dragon's back. He took a seat in the saddle behind Stephen and Friday scampered up towards Levi's head where she perched on his very crown, wrapping her paws around his head.

"Yeah, let's go." Tony frowned, his arms twitched and he had a moment where he didn't know what to do briefly recalling his flight with Loki. He made a half gesture to wind his arms around Stephen's waist - then stopped. Instead, he settled for grabbing hold of the handles on the secondary saddle spot, hoping he wouldn't lose his cool like the last time. "I hope your flying is less erratic than Loki's."

“Loki is a shit disturber and a troublemaker, and Hela indulges him far too much,” Stephen grumbled a bit to himself, adjusting to help Friday settle securely in place on Levi’s back before giving him a pat. The red dragon dove from the platform into an immediate glide down towards the whelp residences in an easy motion. “He likes to create problems unnecessarily for the hell of it. Not all flying is quite so… distressing.”

It took only a little more than two minutes for Levi to touch down near Tony’s residence, laying himself down and extending his ramp of a wing in the meantime to let them down. “We’ll wait here until you’re changed and ready to go.”

_ <Friday, wait here with Stephen and Levi, I'm just going to grab a duffle of clothes to change into for swimming.> _ The whelp perked her head and looked over at Tony as he slid down the extended wing and jogged over to grab his things. 

_ <OK, I'll be right here!> _ she chirped loudly, wiggling her tail.

He only took about five minutes to roughly toss his things into the duffel, grab a towel and sling it over his shoulder. He came back out with a little bit of a huff and climbed back into his spot on the saddle, tightening the straps on his duffle and sitting it between them to keep it secure.

"Alright, good to go."

Stephen gave a short nod and the red dragon climbed back to his feet to take off towards the pool. Of course, in hindsight, calling it a ‘pool’ was really understating how large the body of water was - it was something of a manmade lake that was settled to the side of the Sanctum, water pouring down into it, and then out and down into the deep trench that surrounded the Sanctum. Several dragons were already there - mostly large ones, their scales shimmering and wet in the sunlight as they splashed about.

Levi sat them down on the platform that circled the water, waiting patiently as Stephen got down and gave both Tony and Friday a hand dismounting the dragon before he slid under the dragon to start unfastening the harness. 

“The outside edge of the majority of the pool is shallower and less affected by the dragon’s swimming - there’s a small dyke that separates the two swimming areas, and it’ll be safer for Friday to swim in the shallower pool as well. That said, I’m sure Levi would be happy to teach her to swim and he will certainly not fit in the shallow pool,” the man explained as he unlatched the last of the fastenings for the harness, allowing Levi to lift the thing up and set it aside on his own. Lucky thing, too, since the whole saddle was considerably bigger than Stephen himself.

It was moments before the big red barreled off into the deeper water, making a rather large splash and flitting his wings with a deep grumble, disappearing under the water line for a moment before paddling back over and resting his head on the edge of the dyke. “Oh, I see. He says he’s happy to show her how to swim over there. She can stay in the shallow area and he’ll demonstrate where the water’s deeper.”

Tony lost his own robes and shirt to reveal the pair of very modern looking swim trunks he had underneath, Friday watched him undress.

_ <Tony!> _ she chirruped,  _ <hey Tony, are we going in the water? Tony!> _ She circled around him, he had his tunic over his head and took a step forward, foot catching on Friday's tail causing him to trip.  _ <-Tony!> _ He managed to catch himself on his hands.

_ <Hey!> _ He felt paws on his back briefly before they left his shoulders and she circled around his front to prod at his face with her little snout.

_ <Yes, Friday?> _

_ <I want to go into the water, can I go in the water now? Levi is calling me over.> _ Tony pushed himself up onto his knees and discarded his tunic so he was only in a shirt, exposing a large scar in the center of his chest. 

_ <Yeah, yeah, go join him. I'll be there in a moment.> _ She hopped on spot, flaring her wings before her body turned and swivelled towards the body, head still stuck looking at Tony before she turned and crashed into the water, charging off towards the red.

Tony shook his head with a grin, though it was lost when he turned to Stephen. "What will you do?"

“Swim,” the other responded simply. He’d divested himself of his own robes in the time it took them to sort themselves out, his clothing folded and resting atop the saddle as he padded barefoot along the paved edge of the pool. “Depending on how long they decide to splash around and sunbathe I might read later. I expect you’re more interested in swimming at this point than discussing duties and history. Once the dragons are quite finished, we’ll resume showing you around the Sanctum. So go ahead and enjoy yourself.”

Unlike the rather inelegant displays the dragons put on, with Levi even now raised partially up on the dyke and watching Friday with attentive concern to make sure she could make it to him without issue, Stephen sunk himself into the water with an unsurprising amount of grace, sitting himself along the edge to observe the dragons with a small smile fixed on his features.

"Huh, catch some rays and you might just end up with my skin tone, or are you the type that just burns as soon as they catch a lick of sun, huh?" Tony teased. "We can talk while we swim, Friday will be preoccupied." He got to the edge of the water and stepped into his ankles.

_ Cold. _

He waited a moment, stepping a few times before he started to advance in a little further. It was slow, he'd forgotten how cold lake-water could be but his body was slowly adjusting to the temperature as he went in deeper, waiting for Stephen to follow.

“I don’t tan. I burn and then I stay pale. That’s all.” The other man shrugged, slowly pressing away from the edge and extending himself out to swim before twisting to lay out on his back and float there.

For weeks things were the same - he’d get up in the morning and he and Friday would be greeted by the big sweetheart that was Levi, who would bring them to wherever the lesson of the day took place. After lessons the dragons would disappear into the water and paddle around and Friday was growing increasingly comfortable in the water. Stephen and Tony would swim on days that were warm and sunny and converse about the goings-on of the Sanctum, Tony’s expected duties, and some of the history of the Sanctums.

At first Tony expected that Stephen would grow warmer towards him over time, especially since apparently there weren’t weekends off of lessons, and yet the rider remained distant and impersonal. He was a master, and he kept that mentorly distance, which didn’t make the idea of them eventually having any kind of sexual relationship seem any more appealing.

And that wasn't to say that Tony hadn't tried to extend the olive branch. In most cases, Stephen remained cool and prickly (probably the best way to describe him) and it was a surprising contrast to the kindness and happiness his companion dragon radiated.

Tony still hadn't managed to befriend any others either, mostly holed up in the library aside from times when Loki had come to keep him company - and the trickster's idea of keeping him company was thoroughly distracting him from his studies or flirting with him, which hey - Loki looked good, but Tony simply wasn't interested despite the slender man's enthusiasm.

He could safely say the black-haired man was his only friend here and as annoying as the guy could be, it was nice to have someone to talk to other than Friday, even though they were close.

Speaking of the charming lass, her scales had long since hardened and Tony had taken up his duties with pride of cleaning her and brushing her scales daily. He went so far as polishing her crown and her claws at least once a week on weekends and moisturizing the membrane of her wings.

He'd picked up a lot of information from the library and he'd familiarized himself with a lot of seasonal rituals, duties and manners along with knowing everything there was to know about caring for gold dragons and dragons in general.

Oddly though, despite the distance between mentor and mentee, Tony's mind was always coming back around to Stephen and how the guy could be so cold, he would literally be the last person Tony wanted to sleep with in the Sanctum and half bared ill-will upon the flight and hoped that Levi didn't win despite loving the redwing almost as much as Friday.

And so it was that he and the raven-haired green rider wound up sitting with feet dangling over the ledge of one of the platforms, far higher up than anyone should be, staring at the night sky with drinks in hand. Friday had fallen asleep well before he left and despite letting her know he was going out, she gave only the sleepiest of responses before returning to her slumber.

“-and then he says to me, ‘you’re a green rider, you can’t treat me like that!’” Loki mimicked someone’s voice beside him, taking a long swig of his mead and laughing a bit to himself. “God, some people are so hoity-toity about how big their damn dragons are you’d think they were talking about their dicks. I wouldn’t trade Hela for the world.” Taking another sip of his beer he sat it aside and stretched, laying back on the grass to stare at the moon.Tony took a swig from the tin flask he'd brandished, but not before clacking the tip against the brim of Loki's flagon.

"I just… yeah, I don't get him, dude walks and talks like he owns the Sanctum. He has the sweetest dragon I've met, but I seriously can't handle how prickly and egotistical he is." He folded his hands around the flask. "Not to mention I can't seem to do a damn thing to get him to warm up to me, we see each other daily and it's as if he hates my guts for some unknown reason. That, or his ego is so big he can't get over the whole situation that I imprinted on Friday and not some lass," he huffed.

Tony could admit he was slightly inebriated, and he leaned over into Loki's shoulder. "This sucks."

“Hm? You mean Stephen? Stephen’s just like that though. Has been for… well, I guess about a year now. I mean, longer about other things, though,” Loki gave a small shrug. “He doesn’t like things he can’t understand. You’re an anomaly. He doesn’t understand you. I wouldn’t take him too seriously, Tony. Don’t let him get you riled up. Plus, a lot of the red riders seem to be like that. They ride a red dragon and assume that makes them the most amazing thing to ever exist. And the non-riders treat them like they’re the best thing ever, too.”

Loki took another swig of his drink with a grumble. “Honestly, I know you haven’t met him and it’s safe to say Thor’s friendlier, but Thor’s the same way. All ego. He’s a red rider, so he’s the best thing ever. He’s just as sure Mjolnir is gonna catch Friday as Stephen is about Levi. I dunno which way would be better though, Stephen’s absolute disinterest in the ensuing relationship, or Thor’s over-interest. I’ve been trying to keep him away from you for a reason.”

"Yeah but the idea of sleeping with that guy… he's so emotionless and cold like… come on, it's kind of revolting," Tony grimaced, hanging off of Loki's shoulder. "I've got the queen, but you don't see me walking around like I own the Sanctum, honestly people don't really seem to like me because of it and I should be the hottest shit here!" He took a sloppy swig from the canteens and let out a whiskey-laden breath, pushing up off Loki to sit back up straight.

"He was so… medical about the way he spoke about it like he doesn't even care for people. Tch."

“You  _ are _ the hottest shit here,” Loki teased, nudging him with an elbow. “Don’t let anyone forget it. And Friday is the sweetest little dragon I’ve seen in a long time! You two deserve each other and a much better guy than Stephen,” the raven-haired man sighed after a moment. 

“Maybe there’s some way to fix the flight? I mean, I can introduce you to some of the other red riders, maybe you’ll hit it off with one of them? Maybe there’s a way to get Friday to let one of them mate her instead? Lots of the red riders are kinda boastful dicks, but if you decide you can tolerate one of them, there are six of them in total in the New York Sanctum currently, plus the three from your hatching. Some of the former reds moved to London after they lost some dragons to illness, which is what happened to our former red leader…”

"Having to hang around one Stephen is bad enough," Tony groaned and threw his head back. "The thing is, I like Levi a lot! Friday is absolutely smitten with him as well - it's the rider that's the problem. I'm not sure if all the red dragons are as nice as Levi is, but when it comes to being a good parent and looking out for what's good for my baby girl, I know Levi's a good match." 

Tony kicked his feet a little and took another swig. "As easy as it is to think I only have to sleep with the dude, I feel like my pride would take a blow to give that asshole exactly what he wants."

“I’m not totally sure if that’s what Stephen wants. As a leader Stephen is very capable. There are worse things for the Sanctum than for Stephen to be leading and managing us,” Loki shrugged as he glanced at the gold rider thoughtfully. “But if it’s Stephen’s lack of warmth that bothers you, some of the other red riders are at least a little warmer. As I said, Thor’s a big boastful dolt and duller than a bag of hammers, but no one would deny that he’s passionate. Mordo’s a pretty interesting guy? Very set in his ways, but he’s a looker… Erik is more free-spirited and fun-loving, but he always seems like he has a chip in his shoulder. Maybe he just doesn’t like me.”

The man took another sip of his drink before looking at Tony. “Or if tall, dark and handsome is less your thing, there’s Steve? He’s about as noble and sweet as they come. Blonde hair, blue eyes, you know. That sort of thing if that’s your type. Also? Solid muscle. Not my type, but I can appreciate that physique for damn sure. Or there’s Quill, you might get along with him. I don’t think he’d make a great Sanctum leader since he seems easily distracted, and he’s kind of a man whore… but he loves music, dancing, people in general.”   


Loki wrinkled his nose a bit thoughtfully. “On the part of the dragons, Thor’s Mjolnir is a bit of a scrapper. He seems to enjoy asserting his dominance which can naturally be a bit of an issue, so I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want Friday anywhere near him. Mordo’s Valtorr is very dignified if Hela’s to be believed. But he does come across very regal and elegant. He’s a beautiful dragon. Steve’s Howler is very proper, but does seem a little edgy around the younger dragons, and spends a good deal of time with Bucky’s brown, Winter. 

“I don’t know Milano well, but he’s Quill’s dragon. He seems quite like his rider in many ways, playful and just happy to enjoy himself and have a good time. I imagine he’d do well with Friday, but whether either of them would be suited to the role of Sanctum leader is… questionable. As for Erik, he only came to the Sanctum recently and I don’t know much about his capabilities or about his dragon I’m afraid.”

"Maybe I'm just spoiled rotten, or I'm honestly not and I'm having a hard time adjusting to this whole culture shock behind mating flights..." Tony trailed off with some contemplation, but he was looking at Loki, cheeks red with a grin on his face. 

He had to admit after a couple drinks the man was attractive, and there was some energy between the two.

It was true that most of his life he had been handed a lot of stuff just due to his status. At the same time, he by no means squandered any of it and he worked hard for everything else, all that he had amassed.

"But yeah, I'd be down to meet some other people by your recommendation, I get the feeling a lot of the folks have their own cliques, plus it's hard to get around the Sanctum with Friday when I don't have Levi around as my personal chauffeur. Don't get me wrong, that dragon is the sweetest I've met and he's been good enough to help me get to places in the Sanctum I can't otherwise get to by foot. But he's still Stephen's dragon, and that's the part the fucking sucks," he groaned.

"Do you get me?"

“Culture shock can take some time to adjust to, or so I’ve heard,” Loki sighed softly, leaning against the shorter man. “You should at least meet the other red riders. It might give you a better idea of what you’re dealing with, you know? Plus, you’ve got a few years before worrying about how it actually goes down. There’s time. Who knows? Maybe by then things will be different. But regardless, you could use more people to talk to. I mean, I love keeping you all to myself and all but… You need to get to know people as a Sanctum leader, too.”

"You've got a good point there… alright, how about tomorrow after my lessons with  _ Oscar the grouch _ ? You can take me around to hang out with these friends you're talking about and Friday can get a chance to meet up with some of these other riders?" Tony smiled, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol but he was happy and he was enjoying his night with Loki.

“Consider it a playdate! I’ll see what I can arrange. You’ll see! Tomorrow you’ll get a new lease on life in the Sanctum!” Loki grinned widely.

It was still a couple of hours before Hela, their  _ very _ sober driver, dropped Tony off at his room with Loki promising to start introducing him to people the next day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	3. Chapter 3

The next day’s lessons brought new information, but there was a part of Tony that was anxious and distracted thinking about what came after - anticipation at the idea of meeting more people and maybe shaking off the feeling that somehow not everyone hated him. 

Even as Stephen gathered things up after their lesson and started up onto Levi’s back, preparing for their usual flight to the lake, Tony was sorting out how to get to the canteen from here.

Tony hadn't exactly planned to be picked up straight from his lesson but a series of exchanged text messages and he had a lift. Loki was scheduled to pick him up after his lessons with Stephen, and he wasn't short of excitement at the prospect of meeting the green rider’s group of friends.

His displeasures forgotten, he started packing his things a minute to finish and rather than going to the reservoir with Friday he'd be meeting and mingling with other riders.

Stephen gave him a tilted look as his pupil seemed to be all but listening to the last bits of information that he was reviewing. Tony had been distracted by his phone, looking at his phone as it vibrated in his pocket.

L: Be there in two, be ready at the plateau to the library.

T: Got it, just finishing up with Mr. tight ass over here.

L: If only you knew...

T: What's that supposed to mean?

L: Nothing, almost there, be ready!

He stuffed his phone into his pocket and slung his bag over his shoulders, kicking his chair out from underneath him ready to dash off. As far as he was aware, Stephen was still talking but Tony paid no mind and was just ready to leave. Class was done and he didn't need to hang around the grinch of a man any longer.

_ <Fri, let's go, girl, we're going to introduce ourselves to some of the other riders today.> _

_ <Alright, Tony! More friends? I'm excited!> _ The not-so-little welp bounced excitedly on her haunches.

“Tony!” the voice called from behind him, but the door was closed before the red rider could do anything about it as Loki landed.

Levi seemed a bit taken aback as Tony came rushing out and was dragged up onto the small green rider, giving the dragon and humans a perplexed look before glancing towards the door Tony had come from and back again. He lowered his head and gave a soft whining grumble as Friday was helped up onto Hela’s back before Loki waved at him.

“Send Stephen my love will you, Levi? I’ll get them both home safe and sound,” the green rider grinned at the clearly perplexed red, before making certain Tony and Friday were secure, and nudging Hela enough for the green to dive from the platform.

Tony blew a kiss to Levi and the dragon seemed to look a bit crestfallen as he watched Friday hobble up onto the green's back.

"I know you like to fly like a maniac but for Friday's sake, you think Hela could take it a bit easier this time? If you want me to put my arms around your waist, I'll do it. Think about your future queen though." 

Friday took a seat at the back, where there was a bar at the back of the saddle for her to hold onto with her jaw should she need to given how much more turbulent flying on a green's back tended to be.

"Oh my, how could I resist such an offer?" Loki purred as Tony fastened his arms around the dark-haired man's slender form. Tony gave him a choking squeeze which caused the trouble-maker to wheeze and he rolled his eyes.

"Alright, set and ready."

"Very well, Hela darling would you do the honours. And be gentle for our young guest again." The green cocked her head with a side glance and a smirk before taking off, thankfully honouring her rider's request.

Stephen had just run outside the library to see Tony take off with Loki and Friday, with Levi looking back just as puzzled as his rider for having not been granted the pleasure of a swim with his to-be mate.

The flight to the canteen didn’t take long, but there was a notable difference between the speed of the red he’d grown accustomed to riding and Hela’s - and also a difference between the smoothness of the flight. Although it was considerably less bumpy and frightening than his first flight, the green was almost half Levi’s size, and between her size and the strength of the wind there was only so much that could be expected of her.

As they approached the larger platform outside the canteen, two large reds made themselves known by calling out towards them. The larger of the two displayed a silver throat as he trumpeted a greeting, while the slightly smaller red lashed his tail around excitedly, making a deep crooning noise that sounded mildly melodic. By the time Hela touched down, the reds had been joined by a pair of tall, blond men that Tony could only assume were their riders.

“Brother! You made it!” The taller man - Thor, Tony assumed - gave his red a pat as the dragon tried to nudge the other red aside, extending his head out as though to sniff at the gold dragon, only for Hela to growl and nip at him. The red retreated with an indignant huff and Thor chuckled a little. “And you must be Tony! Welcome to the Sanctum, it’s nice to finally meet you! Stephen’s been hoarding you all to himself.”

“Yo!” the other man waved once he’d snuck out from nearly being crushed between the two reds, offering a hand to help Tony down from his spot. “Hi, I’m Quill.”

"You know this is the welcome I was hoping I would have gotten the first day. It's nice to meet you Thor, Quill." Tony took his hand and shook it and he noted the strength of his grip and enthusiasm in the shake. 

Thor shook his hand but then yanked him in for an even more enthusiastic and bone-crushing hug causing Tony to unexpectedly squeak from how tight it was. He was eventually let go and Tony took a step back just as soon.

Thor offered him a smile and Tony returned it, just as soon offering his hand to Quill as he regarded the other rider. "Tony, nice to meet you, Quill." The grinning red rider was less bone-crushing with his gesture and they released after a brief shake. 

Tony was thankful for that at least.

"Brother has told me much about you, it's nice to finally get to meet you. Where is our fair damsel this evening?" The reds were already peering at Friday like she was fresh meat and the gold was reluctant to stray from Hela. 

"All good things, I hope?"

Thor simply flashed him a toothy grin and let out a throaty chuckle. "Very good, we've all been dying to see you in person." Tony turned around to Friday who was still back with Hela.

_ <Come on Fri, they won't hurt you.> _

_ <They are big and intimidating Tony… Are you sure? I could just stay with Hela.> _ Friday chirped a little quietly from her spot. Tony made another gesture for her to come forward and she slowly padded over. Nowhere near as enthusiastic as the first time she'd met Levi.

“Ah, of course, our manners. Forgive us,” Thor cleared his throat a little and reached to pat the great red beside him. “This is Mjolnir.”

“You’re gonna overwhelm the poor guy with names, he’ll figure it out Thor,” Quill shrugged a little. “In the meantime, come on in. There are a few people inside that have been waiting to meet you and their new queen!” Despite his words, however, the curly-haired blond crouched down a bit to offer a hand to Friday with a rather excitable smile. “Hello, gorgeous.”

“The others seemed to be busy at the moment, but Steve and Bucky and their wing should be joining us later on,” Loki clarified for Tony as he cast a look at Hela.

The green watched Friday carefully before giving another warning growl to Mjolnir who huffed and stamped a foot before finally laying down to attempt to make himself less menacing. The other dragon - Milano, Tony thought Loki had called him - was happy to make himself even less menacing than that as he rolled onto his back and continued to wiggle his tail like a rather excited pup, crooning enthusiastically at the little gold.

Tony watched as the two reds put on their best behaviour for their matriarch and Friday slowly trotted up to each of them, sniffing lightly and prodding their cheeks with her snout which received soft churrs in response from either of the dragons. 

Though, due to their size, they came out more like bellows and rumbles of content as their eyes watched the tiny gold whelp inspect them quickly, her azure eyes looking on them before she padded after Tony to come inside.

As soon as she was at Tony's side the reds began to snap at each other with teeth bared, loud indignant hisses as they batted at each other seemingly arguing amongst themselves.

This caused Friday to jolt forward and huddle up against Tony.

_ <They are very possessive and territorial Tony, I don't like them as much as Levi,> _ she shivered slightly against him and Tony slung his arm over her as he led her with him into the tavern.

_ <It's okay, baby girl, just come inside with me. You don't need to stay with them,> _ Tony directed a frown towards the bantering males and slipped inside, Loki had been holding the door open for the two like a gentleman.

"You best keep an eye on that daughter Tony, every dragon here will want to court that little treasure," Loki reached down to scratch the underside of Friday's neck which got him some soft purrs from the dragon in response.

“Loki’s not wrong,” a woman’s voice interjected from the side, where a tall, strawberry-haired woman stood, carrying a couple handfuls of drinks over to a table - the one Loki seemed to be leading them towards. “She’s a beautiful little one. Does she like chicken? We’ve got a few running around in the back if she decides she’s too overstimulated in here and wants to chase one down.”

“Virginia,” Loki grinned, “I didn’t expect you to be here. Tony, this is one of my fellow green riders. She can easily tell you what a pain in the ass reds are-”

“-the riders  _ and _ the dragons,” Virginia added, watching Thor and Quill follow them in after apparently having settled their dragons down to some extent. “I also manage the pub in the evenings.”

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with us madam!" Quill quickly interjected as he walked in and caught the rest of that conversation. "The boys just got a little excited meeting their future queen."

"Why yes, the dragons are just excited, all is well now," Thor added dumbly as if growing a bit defensive. He cleared his throat and trailed off a little less bashfully as he took up a barstool beside Tony.

"You boys aren't making a good first impression on the new ones," the bartender added flatly.

Tony waited for the ruckus to sort itself out before he held a hand out. "Pleasure, Virginia. Friday is comfortable where she is, for now, I think she got a little startled after that tiff the dragons had outside. If it's all the same for you, I'd rather keep her inside if she's not in your way." Tony nodded his head and Friday took up a spot at his feet near the wall so she was out of everyone's way, huddling in the corner like a scared kitten.

“Not at all,” the woman smiled a bit as she set the drinks on the table for them and looked to Tony. “Can I get you anything to eat or drink? Or anything for the little one? The other hatchlings tend to get overwhelmed easily and people are bound to want to come and say their greetings to the little queen, so if I can do anything to help her relax, just let me know, alright?” 

Taking his hand with her free one, she offered a pleasant smile. “And you can call me Pepper if you want to. Virginia makes me feel like I’m much older than I am,” she laughed.

_ <Fish!> _

Tony glanced down quickly at the gold and back up at Virginia. "Well, Pepper, fish and chips for me with a glass of whiskey on the rocks, and some fish for the little one." Friday chirruped happily, tail wagging excitedly. Tony reached out and took Pepper's hand and gave it a gentle shake.

“Virginia here came to impress a queen and found out there were no queens at her hatching,” Loki explained, not seeming to mind the woman’s comment about the name making her feel old as he took up the seat beside his brother. “She imprinted on a very mild-tempered green herself and is one of a few of our lady riders.”

“Honestly, when you put it like that it sounds very gay, Loki,” she sighed at that, but her lips quirked in amusement nevertheless.

Quill took up the spot across from Tony with a rather scruffy smile. “So how are you adjusting to things? Stephen can be an absolute drill sergeant I heard, are you holding up okay? He’s not pushing you too hard is he?”

"Dude always has a case of resting bitch face, not so much a drill sergeant but the man's never happy with himself or anything I do. It's like I'm constantly hanging around a rain cloud. Sometimes he's a bit much but I'm not having any problems with the workload - not to brag but I'm a quick learner and I think I have that going for me considering I'm not Sanctum born." Tony picked up one of the napkins resting in front of him and began to fold it. "I don't think he was too pleased when I took off today to come here with Loki instead of going to the reservoir. His red has been teaching her how to swim but she already knows and is a strong swimmer."

"Pah, screw him then, Tony, you're a free man! You can do as you like!" Thor boasted happily slapping a hand down on his back.

"But not quite literally," Loki added with a smirk which got a look from Tony.

"Yeah, and to be fair, mingling with other riders technically counts as Sanctum duties. You know, getting to know the place and the people as well." Tony decided not to mention the part about coming to meet Thor and Quill for the sake of looking for marriage material for Friday.

"I'll be back with your drinks in a second, food will be out in 15." Pepper smiled at the group and retreated to submit the order.

"Thanks, Pep."

A quiet kerfuffle outside the establishment lasted for a good minute before a tall, dark-haired man made his way into the pub, starting to head towards the bar before catching sight of the gold and swiftly seeking out the Rider. Dark brown eyes stared contemplatively at him for a long minute, before he followed after Pepper towards the bar, leaning against it to speak rather quietly to the woman, before sitting there to wait.

“As you can see this is sort of a hub for a lot of Riders at various hours. But it’s also a safe space from Stephen. He doesn’t seem to like the crowds or drinking in public,” Loki explained around his brother, shoving the blonde out of the way to do so, but speaking a bit lowly as he kept his eyes on the figure clad in deep, rich greens. He returned his attentions to Tony soon enough. “As in many places, the higher up you are in the Sanctum, the higher the likelihood of running into Riders. Next time I can bring you down to the bar to meet some of the non-Riders.”

“You really ought to meet the rest of the red Riders at least,” Thor stated rather firmly, his voice carrying despite that he’d lowered his voice to match Loki’s for whatever reason. “After all, one of us will be your partner eventually!”

The man that waited near the bar seemed a bit taken aback as he was handed a platter of fish, but after a moment he inclined his head to Virginia and made his way to their table, not interrupting their conversation or reaching to touch Friday at all, simply kneeling in front of her and setting the fish down. Even after he had, he inclined his head for a long moment to her and murmured quietly, inaudible over the din of the pub, before giving Tony a curt nod and returning to his spot by the bar.

Friday immediately dove into the food, not even taking the time to chew the fish as she snatched them up piece by piece and swallowed them whole.

Tony watched carefully as the stranger moved away, he nodded his head in response, eyes sticking to the man's back as he retreated.

_ <What did he say to you?> _ Tony's head twitched from Friday and then again back to the retreating form.

_ <He was nice, he just said he was happy to meet me and has high hopes.> _

"Hmm!" Tony's defences immediately fell and he regarded his drink again. He'd kind of zoned out when Thor mentioned the rest of the reds, slightly out of the conversation but right back in again soon enough.

"Yeah - yeah, who else is there? And I'd honestly like to meet more than just red riders," Tony smirked at Thor's enthusiasm.

"Naw man, we're the only ones that matter - trust me!" Quill boasted with a grin holding up his flagon of beer. Loki rolled his eyes, fingering at the crystal wine-glass as he watched the equivalent of a mating dance from the two males that sat on either side of Tony like bookends.

“Tall, dark and quiet there is Mordo,” the raven-haired rider supplied as he shook his head. “One of the red riders.” The man in question collected up a couple of large bottles and gave Virginia a polite nod before making his way out of the pub again without a backwards glance. “He teaches hand-to-hand combat to some of the youngsters and newcomers. Naturally, no one is expecting you to fight, you’re job is to look pretty and be smart,” Loki added with a wry smirk.

Thor rolled his eyes. “I could best Mordo easily.”

“You haven’t yet.” Loki quipped in response, earning him a small glare from Thor that only caused his smirk to widen.

“Eh, Mordo’s a bit of a stick in the mud. It’s no wonder he and Stephen get along,” Quill shrugged a bit. “Erik’s doing an international thing at the moment, passing on the information about you and Friday, and making sure everyone who’s transferred has done so successfully.”

“And Steve and his wing, as I mentioned earlier, are doing rounds at the moment. I expect they’ll be by in an hour or so,” Loki added with a smile. 

Pepper made her way over again to give Tony his drink and meal, offering a small smile and looking as though she might say something else before a couple of the men elsewhere started some sort of shoving match, leaving her to stalk over that way to deal with it - rather hilariously yanking each of them by the ear towards the door and giving them the boot.

"The keyword is 'yet', brother! I will best him and show all of you that I am a very capable fighter." Thor adjusted his posture so his chest was sticking out more than usual as if he was trying to show-off in front of the group.

"Yes Thor, we already believe you are. You don't have to beat Mordo to prove that." Quill rolled his eyes and Tony had by this point leaned down on the bar top on his hand to watch the exchange.

Tony turned to his drink and took a sip. He felt the immediate stress release once the liquid hit his tongue and the rush of endorphins from even a small sip as if he'd been absently craving it.

He picked up his utensils and sampled his dinner, it was delicious. "Damn this is good, totally beats the stuff I get down in the ward. My compliments to the chef!" Tony hooted as Pepper finished scolding the fighting men, leaving her to toss a cheerful smile back his way as she returned to the bar.

He leaned over to Loki. "She's cute."

"Second that," came Thor's response.

"She is, but not my type." Loki tapped his chin.

"That's because everyone knows you're dipping into the dude pool," Quill jabbed, pointing at Loki with a fork full of chicken. Loki grinned, leaned over and snatched up that piece of food before Quill could draw his fork back.

"Quite so!"

"What, hey! Get your own meal dude!" Quill frowned.

Tony grinned as he watched the exchange, he enjoyed the company of this lot and it was really nice to have friends and people to talk to again. Despite the warnings, he could see himself with this social circle.

As the evening wore on, Quill bid them goodnight and made his way off to do his own errands, and as a small group of men and women entered the room, Thor gave a heavy sigh. “Guess it’s my turn for guard duty.” He grumbled a little, clapping Tony on the shoulder. “It was good meeting you. We’ll speak again soon, I hope!”

“Bye, brother!” Loki called cheerfully, before scooting over into the seat Thor had vacated, waving to the group, many of whom had already caught sight of the gold dragon and were looking rather surprised. “And we trade one red for another. The big blonde there at the head of the group? That’s Steve. With him are Bucky, Sam, Natasha and Bruce.” He clarified, pointing around, and the group definitely noticed.

The blonde, Steve, turned his head to murmur something unintelligible to the one-armed man standing beside him, and something else to the redheaded woman, before he and the remaining two - Sam and Bruce - made their way over. He offered a fairly boyish smile and a hand. “You must be Tony. I’m Steve, it’s good to finally meet you.”

Friday had been napping as the men filed out, curled up in the corner beside Tony. He checked on his gold before looking back at the group that walked into the canteen. He tilted his head as Steve approached and slid off of his chair to stand and greet them.

_ Ok, he was hot, _ now hopefully the man was as nice as he looked. He was just as Loki had described, blond hair, blue eyes, built like a brick but with a much more tapered waistline. 

He extended his hand to Steve. "Tony, it's nice to meet you, Steve." The man's handshake was firm and professional and those pure blue eyes stared him down like he was sizing him up. "I'd introduce you to Friday but she's asleep and I don't want to wake her up." He smiled at each of them who reflected the mirth right back.

"I'm sure we have all the time in the world to meet the miss." There was certain electricity between Steve and him, Tony found the man drop-dead gorgeous and thank god he got the feeling the man was just as equally a sweetheart.

Loki stood to the side, grinning as he watched the exchange as if he could see the fireworks between the two men.

“Don’t mind me, I’ll just catch up with the wing and see what’s going on,” the raven-haired rider hummed as he scooted away to herd the rest of Steve’s companions towards the bar, leaving the blonde to chuckle.

“Am I being set up here? Must be a setup. Should I join you, Tony?” He gestured to the seat beside Tony, not sitting but patiently waiting regardless, even as Pepper popped over briefly to offer Steve what Tony could only assume was ‘his usual’ given the exchange was more looks and nods than anything. Including the looks from the wing Loki had joined. 

The redheaded woman, Natasha, had a little smile on her face that he couldn’t exactly make any assumptions about, and beside her the one-armed man and the man Loki had called Sam exchanged the grins of old friends being let in on some kind of secret. All of them quickly refocused as Pepper came around to take orders, and Tony and Steve were left in a quiet bubble, with blue eyes focused on him, curious and appraising, but not judgemental. Not like Stephen’s.

Tony had looked over to Loki with momentary panic but quickly turned back to Steve when he was well enough away.

"So… That happened. Yeah, I can kind of agree with you on that one there." Tony swivelled in his chair to face Steve and leaned against the bar, reaching for his glass and taking a much larger sip from it this time.

There was an awkwardness between them as Tony fought to articulate something. He was having a hard time finding his words, distracted by how good looking Steve was and the fact he was now the stoic man's center of attention.

"So I heard you're not from around here, must have been a tough first few weeks not knowing the ropes, especially since you've gotten paired with one hell of a stickler for your mentor." Steve's voice wasn't scrutinous, but empathetic.

"Hah! Yeah… believe me I've made my fair share of mistakes at the start not knowing anything about the place." Tony fingered his glass

"I can imagine, I know what you must be going through considering I was basically in the same boat when I first started out." He let out an amused breath.

"Wait, you're not Sanctum born?" Tony tilted his head.

"Not a lick of blood in me that runs from this place, but I eventually adjusted."

"It's nice to feel like I'm in my own environment here. This is the first time I actually got a chance to escape the study and go out and meet some riders. Plus, I'm still a bit reluctant to go socialize outside of the riding sector, there's still some stigma floating around about the fact that I imprinted on Friday here and my first few weeks felt alienating and unwelcoming."

“Don’t worry about it too much. The Sanctum is in desperate need of a queen, eventually, they’re going to have to adjust. There’s nothing they can do about it, after all,” Steve smiled warmly. “She chose you. What’s done is done. And there are no other queens to replace her in the Sanctum, not since Tao passed. So it’s just a matter of time before people come to terms with it.”

Taking a sip of his drink, Steve gave a soft hum. “How’s the adjustment going? I used to get lost a lot when I first started out here, especially when Howler was too small to start flying. I felt the most out of place at that point, because I wasn’t a general citizen of the Sanctum, but I also couldn’t fly to where I needed to be like the other Riders. I mean, there was naturally the rest of my hatching group, but they all separated off into cliques based on who was born in the Sanctum, or who had what coloured dragon. My best friend was hospitalized for a while after, too. Lost his arm during the hatching,” he gestured towards Bucky at that.

“But none of that can even come close to what you must be going through. There were two other reds during my hatching, after all - Quill and Stephen. But there hasn’t been a gold hatching in almost two decades from what I hear. At least not in New York.”

"As much as Stephen's been riding me hard, he's been helpful just, prickly," he frowned. "He was kind enough to offer Levi to me to help become adjusted with the Sanctum, took me on tours, showed me the ropes - made sure I knew everything and had what I needed. I don't know if this special privilege was bestowed upon me because Friday imprinted on me, I can only imagine not every rider had this kind of luxury treatment," Tony sat back on the stool.

"Can't say I was quite as fortunate as you Tony, but hey - I'm glad you do have the resources to get around and if you ever need a ride I'd be happy to offer my services if I'm available, I'm pretty sure Howler wouldn't mind either. We gotta look out for one another me and you." He winked and clapped a hand down on Tony's shoulder that lingered just a little longer than usual.

His shoulder tingled and he regarded Steve with a broad smile.

"I feel like I know the devil and the angel of Stevens here," he quipped softly, it was a dumb joke and he ended up turning away a little flustered at his tactless wordplay.

Despite Tony’s embarrassment, however, Steve gave a bright laugh at that and shrugged. “He didn’t used to be like this if it helps? He’s really not a bag guy…” He swished the water in his cup and stared at it for a moment, then gave a little shrug as he sipped at his drink.

“I think he’s just coping, the best way he knows how. He ended up with a lot of responsibilities foisted on him when Daniel and his red left. None of the other reds here had been trained the way Stephen had so he’s become something of a de facto leader. It puts a lot of pressure on someone to suddenly have all that responsibility. He and Thor used to butt heads a lot because Thor seemed to think it was his right to step up despite lacking the training.” 

The blond wrinkled his nose. “It was ugly for a while there, but things are starting to settle now. I’m not sure that guy ever takes a break. The Sanctum comes first. I don’t envy him, but I can’t help but respect his dedication. I can’t think of a better person to teach you, but I can totally understand not feeling welcomed by him.”

"Yeah, I hear the same thing from everyone," he took another swig and finally finished off his glass. "Dude's like an iceberg, he never warms up and I've been studying under him the entire time. It would be nice to at least get a break for once," Tony nudged his glass away and Pepper came by to scoop it up with a smile.

"Why don't you take me out to see big red, I'm getting a bit tired and I think it's about time I turn in." Tony wasn't lying, he'd been about ready to go back after the other crew took off and right now he was running on empty, especially with the alcohol in him.

"I'd love to introduce you, you can meet the rest of the wing." Steve stood up and Tony woke Friday with a gentle tap on the shoulder.

The gold opened her eyes with a wide yawn, letting out a soft squeak as she unfurled herself from the ball she'd curled up into in the corner, looking a bit groggy.

"Hey gang, I'm just going to show Tony the wing, probably take him home since he's tired - I'll be back." Bucky waved an arm, Sam nodded and then kind of just glanced at him. "If you need a lift?" he then turned to Tony.

Tony smiled, nodding. "Yeah, that would be great." He caught a wink from Loki as the two of them headed out the door.

He’d heard of a dragon wing before, but this was the first time he’d really seen one in person. The dragons remained gathered together on the platform, a green, a blue, two browns and a red all sitting in a line, though they came to attention fairly quickly at the sight of the small gold dragon. The larger of the two browns, in particular, got to his feet, making a low growl of uncertainty, and the other brown echoed it in his spot. All eyes were on the little queen as she approached, and the green and blue both gave low grumbles as they laid their heads down, seeming to wiggle a little across the grass to come closer. The red was the only one of the dragons who stayed remarkably still, even as Steve looked around at each of them.

“What are you all on about? She’s your queen. Where are your manners?” The larger brown gave a deep whine, his maw opening wide as he did so and finally the big red dragon took a couple of steps forward to establish himself at the head of his wing.

The bellow from the brown grew louder and teeth were bared with a hiss from the two browns. They continued to encroach on her and Friday began to back off.

_ <Tony I don't think I like these ones,> _ she spoke with a small voice in his hand and despite Tony stepping in front of her they still approached, breaking their formation. None of them made any quick movements but they did try to slink forwards and scare her backwards with loud indignant bellows.

_ <It's ok, they won't harm you, I promise. I wouldn't let them.> _

"Steve, what the hell is going on with these guys? Do they have behavioural issues or something?" Friday continued to back up, shaking in her spot with a wide-eyed stare.

"I don't know Tony, this hasn't happened before!" Steve was just as distraught from the commotion.

"Well can you call them off?" Tony's head snapped to Steve.

"They won't listen to me, they aren't my dragons." Tony stepped up and tried to calm the wing but they continued to exhibit aggression.

One of the browns boldly stepped forward with another warning to the gold before it was cut off by a blur of red slamming into the ground like a meteor hitting the earth.

Levi had interjected, flaring his spines, wings spread and head cocked letting out a throaty roar, he responded to the group with his loudest pitch. Friday immediately scampered in between Levi's legs and pushed up against his back-right foot trying to remain as close to him as possible.

"Shit... Stephen's not going to be happy about this," he ran a hand over his temple but had to admit there was a sigh of relief from the intervention.

"Never mind Stephen, his dragon is pissed," Steve sighed.

That was a fair assessment. 

Tony had never seen Levi like this, nor heard him be so loud. The roar he’d given still echoed around the Sanctum in stark contrast to his usually low and soft grumbles and croons. There was no denying that Levi was asserting his dominance here and while the red in charge of the wing immediately sat back on his haunches and tucked his head in obedience, the brown that had initiated the engagement dared to continue another slow, purposeful step forward. The rest of his wing did nothing to join him - and it was just as well.

Levi’s maw caught the brown by the throat, clearly not biting him in a way that damaged him, but exerting enough pressure to shove the brown’s face against the ground, growling deeply at him, his eyes flitting to each of the other members of the wing who one by one tucked their own heads in submission before he released the brown in question, watching him with a fixed anger. His eyes had shifted in colour to a deep, agitated red and it took no time at all for the brown to simply roll onto his back, submitting his belly to the considerably larger red.

“-Very pissed,” Steve added, running a fretful hand into his hair before slowly making his way around Levi - slower still the moment the aggravated dragon’s focus settled on him - before he reached a hand out to the red. Levi’s tail lashed about for a moment before he lowered his head to press his nose to the hand, seeming to accept Steve’s apology.

His head swivelled around immediately after to nose gently at the little gold dragon tucked underneath him, sniffing at her in several places and checking for injuries, before giving a soft croon and looking to Tony, extending a wing in a familiar gesture. He didn’t need to say it for Tony to get the picture. Levi wanted him and Friday to climb on.

“I’m so sorry about this, Tony. I’ll speak with the others and figure out what happened here.”

"Don't worry about it Steve, neither of us could have expected that and trust me when I say there isn't much more I could do to really piss Stephen off more than he already is - if he ever finds out about this." He found himself somewhat disheartened that he wasn't going to get his chariot ride home with prince charming.

"I'll text Loki to get me your number so we can plan another pub night," he lifted a hand with a meek smile before turning to Levi who impatiently curled his tail around Tony and started corraling him up onto his back. "Yeah, yeah I'm going." Friday had returned those gentle licks to Levi's face, giving him a series of headbutts on his cheek before she climbed on.

_ <I didn't know what else to do, I had to call him,> _ she curled up on the back of the saddle.

_ <Don’t worry, better he was there than not. I don't know what those dragons would have done and I would have rather not taken the risk.> _ Tony reached over to pat Levi on the neck and the dragon took off, flying towards the terrace to drop Tony and Friday off.

"Sorry about that bud, we didn't mean to bother you." The red dragon side-glanced and gave a soft bellow in response, gliding all of a couple of minutes before he landed upon the terrace again and deposited his riders in front of the ward.

Tony slid off of Levi's back and Friday followed, the red dragon canted his head to bump Tony's stomach affectionately and the man's hands landed on either side of his hooked maw to give him a half hug.

_ <Stephen knows doesn't he...> _ Tony frowned.

_ <He does.> _

Tony sighed and started walking towards the door of his ward. Friday stayed with Levi, the dragon laying down on the ground still eyeing up the gold to double-check there were no injuries.

_ <You coming Fri?> _ Tony looked over his shoulder, smiling at the two. Levi was a really good fit for her, and the dragon went well above and beyond his responsibilities to her and Tony as well.

_ <He wants me to stay for a bit and spend some time with him, I'll follow after.> _ Tony nodded, he opened the door to the apartment, leaving it open a crack for her.

_ <Just close the door when you come in, ok sweet thing?> _

_ <Sure, Tony!> _ she chirruped his direction, laying down on the ground beside Levi and pressing into his side.

“Is she alright?” The voice startled him at first, though why he hadn’t noticed the light was on could have easily been explained by the attention he’d paid to Friday. “There’s a reason I didn’t introduce you to the other red riders yet.”

Stephen sat at the small table meant for meals, his fingers curling and uncurling in some degree of agitation.

"Fucking hell, Stephen!" Tony flinched when the other man spoke up and he let out a huff of air.

"She's fine - what the hell are you doing in my room like this? You know there are better ways to get a guy in bed with you." He was half-joking, half irritated from being startled. "She's fine," was all he said, going over to his desk and dropping his bag on the floor.

“I was worried.” The man responded shaking his head. “Levi doesn’t get aggravated like that easily. I assumed she might have been hurt and came to offer assistance.” He gestured to the bag at his feet - a medical bag, of all things - before picking it up and standing.

“In the future, if you’re going to disappear before lessons are concluded, it’s generally considered polite to let someone know.” The man wavered slightly in his spot as he stood, bracing himself on the table for a moment before looking Tony over. “You’re unharmed?”

Tony frowned, taking his coat off and setting it on the chair, he wasn't even giving Stephen the courtesy of making eye contact while the spoke.

"Our lesson was done, I left as soon as the time rolled over, I had plans." He finally turned around and crossed his arms. "I'm fine." He rolled his eyes, at least he could deal with the chastising now and not later.

“You left without warning,” Stephen corrected. “I had no knowledge of you making other plans, or I could’ve made other plans of my own. Instead, Levi spent the last several hours moping around, thinking  _ he _ had done something wrong and you’d decided he couldn’t swim with Friday anymore. Only for whatever happened to happen, leaving him to go from sulking to furious faster than I’ve ever seen.”

"I don't remember signing my life over to you, I don't need to fill you in on every intricate detail of my day. Our relationship extends as far as the classroom Stephen, and no further. You've been pretty candid about wanting to keep things as so and I'm just trying to make some friends here because it's pretty goddamn lonely being the black sheep around here." Tony sneered, frustration bubbling under his skin.

"I like Levi, and I'm sorry - but I can't say that I'm nearly as much a fan of you."

“You’re my responsibility,” Stephen bit back, scowling in return. “Keeping you and Friday alive and well is  _ my responsibility. _ Otherwise, you could go do whatever the fuck you wanted. But that little gold dragon is the future of this Sanctum, and whether either of us likes it or not, so are  _ you. _ So guess what? You’re stuck with me until she’s old enough and you’re  _ wise enough _ that you can manage to not get either of yourselves killed.”

"You can't keep me holed up like some hunchback, I'm old enough to make my own god damn decisions here, Stephen. How the fuck was I supposed to know the other dragons would threaten her?! Is that not your responsibility to teach me? So instead you just kept me up in the topmost part of the Sanctum like some princess, sheltering me away without a word of warning and when I went out to try and mingle, actually have a fucking life we had some dragons threaten us - you then sit back holier-than-fucking-thou and say 'I told you so' like you’re my god damn father. It's your responsibility to teach me these things and you've done a lousy fucking job." 

Tony balled his fist, the nerve of this man!

“I kept you separated for Friday’s protection. I didn’t stop you from spending time with Loki - or stop you from spending time with anyone else. One on one. Away from large gatherings of groups. I figured it would be common sense, but I suppose I keep giving you more credit than you deserve.” The other man responded, leaving the list he’d apparently been writing on the table.

“So go ahead. Go out there. Figure it out on your own since you’re so clever. Because guess what? I never asked for this job either. I’m not your father. I never  _ asked _ to run a Sanctum on my own and I sure as shit didn’t ask to have to deal with  _ you. _ You know where to find me if you decide you want to be a responsible part of this Sanctum.” Stephen’s tone wasn’t as cool as it had been during his lessons - in fact, this might’ve been the most emotion he’d seen from the man - but he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and made his way out the door, apparently done with the situation.

Levi made a displeased noise that Tony could hear from within his ward, but soon enough there was only the sound of beating wings and a soft yowl from a distressed Friday as her companion was made to leave. Tony could hear Friday's crestfallen yips from the plateau as she called out to her red guardian. 

Tony, on the other hand, turned his back, furious. Stephen had edicts and expectations and treated him like he should comprehend all these things a Sanctum born or even a gold rider should know.

But no, Tony didn't know these things, and Stephen hadn't even allowed him to learn to right the things he was getting in trouble for. Every lesson and every pass, nothing was ever good enough for the other man and Tony frustratingly threw a pillow over his head and curled up in his way-too-large bed. Stephen was becoming more and more like his father to him, and he resented that given he'd come to the Sanctum to get away from _ just that. _

There was a soft creak at the door and Friday slowly slunk inwards. She nudged the door shut with her tail and slowly climbed up onto the bed beside him.

She was sad; sad because Levi was gone, sad that Tony was angry, and sad that Stephen was sad. Her empathetic abilities stretched beyond her own understanding and she was miserable right now because everyone around her was.

She curled up in a ball behind Tony, pressing up against his back and letting out soft crestfallen whistles. 

Tony slowly turned around when the gold laid down beside him and with a sigh, turned over and slung his arm over her head, bringing it into his chest.

< _ He doesn't understand what it's like to be an outcast, I'm sorry Friday, I blew up at Stephen... _ >

< _ Does this mean I won't be able to see Levi anymore? _ > she let out a sad sounding chirp.

< _ No, it doesn't mean that at all. But Stephen and I are going to be on some pretty rocky roads for a bit. We don't exactly see eye-to-eye. _ >

< _ I hope you two makeup, I like Stephen and I like Levi. I'm sad that you two are fighting. _ >

< _ I know, I'm sorry Fri... _ >

* * *

The sun hadn’t yet risen when he took to the sky. The first patrols of the morning were only just assembling in the early hours of dawn when the sun glinted off a red hide for the briefest moment, but there was no one to see when the brief shimmer blinked out of existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	4. Chapter 4

For the first few days after Stephen left, Friday spent her time sulking and trying to get in contact with Levi. Tony heard endlessly about how cruel he was and how all of this was his fault that Levi and Stephen had taken off. She didn't want to be around him and holed herself up in the ward, only leaving when Tony brought food and even then she wouldn't eat around him. 

It was harder than anything for Tony, his dragon wouldn't speak to him, Stephen was gone and he was left with a guilty conscience from the constant reminders Friday would give him whenever he tried to talk with her.

He was miserable and Loki would stop by every now and then to keep him company, though most of their chatting was left to text messaging which even still, Tony took his time to respond.

Rather than sulk, Tony holed himself up in the library day-by-day to research and learn. He'd show that he didn't need Stephen as a mentor and that he was perfectly capable of learning on his own. Friday eventually got lonely after the fourth day of giving Tony the silent treatment, she was young after all and eventually came to him after separation anxiety had gotten the best of her.

Tony assured her that Levi wasn't ignoring her but Stephen was probably far enough away that they couldn't speak with one another - he would come back sooner or later, he had duties to the Sanctum. This put the little gold's mind at ease but didn't stop her from being sad at the absence of her to-be mate.

There was no ceremony when Stephen returned after two weeks of absence and he might not have known the man had returned if it weren’t for Friday’s sudden response to Levi’s return. There was no sign of the man, but Levi sat outside the library and gave a steady whine in his attempts to reach his queen. 

Not unlike a dog trapped outside and wanting in, Levi continued his soft whining until Tony got to his feet to discover the source, being met with a big nose trying to stick itself in a doorway not made for dragons his size.

The moment Friday skittered excitedly outside, the dragon withdrew and crooned happily at the young queen. Nuzzling her gently, the red made his way to the grass to check her over and make sure she was doing alright, lifting his head to look at Tony briefly before curling protectively around the little gold dragon.

Tony wouldn't have referred to Friday as a dog, she was practically his daughter. But what happened was very much akin to letting the dog out of the house so she could go play with the others.

He waved to the red drake and just as soon closed the door to the library to get back to studying again. Though seated back in the study, surrounded by mountains of books both closed and open - Tony's mind fell to formulating what he'd possibly say when Stephen showed his face again.

The steam had long since cooled off but there was still ill-will born to the man who took his baby girl's best friend far away without a word. He could honestly say a lot to Stephen for storming out that night, their fight never really finished and he'd indirectly put both he and Friday through some pretty rough times in their absence.

Formulating and sifting through all the points he had - of all of them though, he would probably opt for saying nothing at all and just growing past the events of two weeks ago. Maybe he could be the better man for once.

Friday had curled up with Levi outside of the library and she was happy again, happier than ever. Her little heart was beating as quick as anything and her happiness in part brightened his mood a bit. She was currently laying down with Levi, curled up against his massive head with his tail curled around the both of them.

The red’s rider made an appearance hours later, though when he did he said little, briefly scanning Tony’s stack of books before wandering off and adding two others to the pile, before taking a couple of books himself to sit elsewhere in silence. He seemed to have little and less to say as he curled up with his book, flipping through a few pages to resume reading.

The silence stretched between them. If it was uncomfortable before, now it was something else entirely. Stephen seemed to decide that it was best to simply hand him what reading material he required and gave no indications whether he cared when Tony showed up or when he left. The red rider kept one schedule and Tony kept another. For months there were less than five words a week spoken between them and more often than not it was simply short nods between them of acknowledgement. It was hard to say if they were even polite, they simply… were.

It might have driven Tony crazy if it weren’t for the fact that he had others he could rely on now. Others who would chat with him, help him talk over materials, others who were happy to socialize or go out. Levi’s return made Friday happier and meant that Friday could stay safely and comfortably with Levi if Tony decided to spend time with some of the other riders so that no incidents happened like the one that had happened before.

It wasn’t as though he enjoyed leaving Friday behind but there was a certain security in knowing she was safe and cared for - and no matter what he thought of Stephen, he knew in his heart that Levi would never allow Friday to be endangered. In the end everyone seemed happier on the whole. Levi, Friday, Tony certainly felt happier…

But there wasn’t much to be said for Stephen. It seemed he saw him in the library, or not at all - which worked fine for him.

In the months that followed Friday had grown exponentially. Where she started as a whelp about the size of Tony, she now towered over him at eight feet and still growing, nearly the size of a full-fledged green. Much too big to go inside the canteen with him, but still small enough to occupy the bed with him. Not like he would bring her around after that all happened.

The lack of interaction between student and mentor was noticeable - still after the times, Tony refused to address Stephen or go out of his way to ask him any sorts of questions. If he had any, he would go out of his way to find the answers to them or seek out other Sanctum masters for help.

Eventually Tony had questions he needed answers for that even the masters couldn't elucidate, he'd hoped to find a gold rider somewhere in one of the nearest neighbouring Sanctums and ask them some questions. However, travel meant he needed wings and given that Levi was only on retainer for strictly Sanctum travel, he'd see if he could ask Loki to take him instead.

T: I need to ask a big fat favour of you

L: The answer is yes!

T: I haven't even told you what I need.

L: Easy, you want to relieve some stress and I'm the man to do it ;) You had me at the words ‘big’ and ‘fat’

Tony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

T: No… I need you to help fly me to one of the neighbouring Sanctums, I need to talk to one of the gold riders. I'll do anything for you, except sexual favours.

L: Well you're no fun, I'll see - bar tonight? I'll pick you up after studies?

T: Yeah sure.

L: Steve's been asking about you.

T: Well, I'm sure I'll see him there too.

L: Still not speaking with Stephen?

T: I really need to get back to my studies, pick me up at five, we'll talk then. 

L: It's a date!

T: No it's not.

L: ;) XOXOXO

Stephen left the library well before 5PM, which was unusual enough for the man’s typical schedule, though odder still was the fact that Levi remained on the platform outside the library when 5PM did roll around, curled around a snoozing gold dragon who was just a little larger than his face now. 

Hela arrived promptly just after five, causing Levi to open an eye for a moment before grumbling a little and nestling in against his queen, watching Tony for signs of whether he was bringing Friday along with him or not.

Loki waved cheerily from the back of his mount, smiling brightly. “Hey, handsome! Need a ride?”

Tony smiled, raising his hand to wave, but first headed over to see the dragons off.

He walked towards the two drakes, the tip of Levi's tail thudded anxiously against the ground as he approached but stopped when the rider put his hand on the round of Levi's snout and gave him a pat.

"Going to the canteen, watch Friday for me bud?" The red let out a soft throaty bellow and closed his eye once again, tail stilling as Tony walked towards the green. "I'll be back later. " The only indication Levi was listening was another thud of his tail lazily raising and thumping against the floor.

He walked up to Hela and she nudged his chest rather roughly, pushing him back a bit. "And hello to you too beautiful!" The dragon opened her maw happily and bobbed her head like a bird.

"My, Tony, I'm so flattered!" Loki grinned as he hopped up onto the saddle behind him and loosely put his arms around Loki's waist.

"I was talking to Hela, not you." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh how you wound me, it's alright - they always do say love is blind."

Tony playfully shoved the other man's shoulder and Loki chuckled before Hela took off towards the canteen.

“So you wanna meet another queen rider, huh?” Loki mused as they flew. “You’re in for a treat if you’ve never seen a fully grown gold in person. It’ll give you good insight on what Friday might look like when she’s full grown. Of course, the dragons of different areas look quite different, too, despite that we’ve exchanged queens and reds now and then in order to promote greater genetic diversity.”

Hela touched down at the canteen soon enough and Loki hopped off her back with familiar ease, reaching to offer Tony a hand down. “You’ll definitely want to make sure you let little Friday know what’s going on, though. Most of the non-Sanctum born riders seem to be aware of only the two other Sanctums - Hong Kong and London - which makes perfect sense since the final Sanctum is sort of sacred ground. But all of them are going to be too far away for you two to communicate telepathically, and you don’t want her to panic while you’re away. But until all of her scales are fully hardened, I can’t safely blink her between locations. It could stunt her growth or otherwise cause her harm.”

Tony took his hand and slid down onto the ground, he gave Loki a curious look. "What do you mean by blink?" Part of him knew this was going to be a long journey but there were things he needed to know that Stephen hadn't or otherwise couldn't teach. He needed an experienced gold to give him insight.

“Ah, of course, you wouldn’t know about blinking yet. That makes sense.” Loki hummed as he gestured towards the pub and began walking. “Blinking is a form of teleportation, I guess. Dragons are capable of it. It allows them to travel long distances in a very short time. However, like when humans blink, there seems to be a space between spaces that dragons appear in. It’s very cold, silent and isolating. It can cause young dragons permanent damage to their scales and may cause them to panic. We have clothes to wear that protect against damage during blinks.”

"Huh, so it wouldn't be a massive voyage around the world then, we'd be there at the snap of our fingers?" Tony grinned walking into the pub, holding the door open for Loki.

They both took a seat at the bar and Tony smiled to Pepper who brought over a couple menus.

"So we could be there and back realistically before anyone knew it and it wouldn't be hard to get back in case Friday needed me." He started looking through the menu, despite being partial to getting the fish and chips again.

“But Friday can’t reach out to you while you’re that far away. If her empathy is strong enough she might be able to signal her distress to you, but that’s about it. You’d have to rely on someone else to alert you otherwise. I can only imagine this is why Stephen hasn’t taken you to another Sanctum yet. She’s still young, the separation anxiety could be an issue,” the raven-haired rider reasoned.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk to Stephen about this ahead of time? Are you two really still just not talking? It’s been months now…”

"I would really prefer not to. This is just how things are between us. We had a massive fight and he made his points very clear." Tony flagged down Pepper as she came by and Tony ordered himself a bourbon neat this time.

"Tony… It's not my place to say but he's your mentor, shouldn't you at least try to speak with him? This is a big leap you're taking here and it could potentially be risky." Loki's uncertainty was vivid in his features.

"Things are working out better than they ever have been, we see each other but we don't speak, he handles my reading materials so it's not like I'm not being mentored. Besides, I would only be gone a few days, and I can let Levi know." Loki still didn't look entirely confident in the answer but he wasn't about to argue.

"I'll do the best I can to help you, I won't stop you but I still can't say its the best idea."

A silence fell between them as Tony contemplated Loki’s words, but the room around them grew steadily louder with the conversations around them. Snippets of things here and there met his ears amidst the drone of the room, with some riders discussing their wings, others talking about things they were watching or reading, and the quiet enthusiasm of a few people discussing their crushes in the corner.

“This seat taken?” a familiar voice inquired beside Tony, and Steve’s warm smile settled on him as he helped himself to the seat regardless, waving to Pepper as she brought over his drink.

Tony felt his heart flutter as he turned to see the familiar red rider. He flashed him a welcoming smile immediately turning away from Loki like some infatuated teen. "Hey! Yea- I mean no, it's all yours." Tony managed to stumble over his words. He could hear the soft chortles from Loki behind him.

"Haven't heard back from you since you took off that night, is everything alright?" Steve looked over to Loki and nodded his head to acknowledge the green.

"Yeah, everything's fine… Stephen and I had a big fight, needless to say, we haven't been speaking since." Pepper swung by with their drinks and already with Steve's usual as well.

"Tony, that was months ago, how can you be ignoring him for that long?" Steve nodded to Pepper and mumbled a quiet 'thanks'.

"I'm not ignoring him, just not talking to him. He still hands me books or rather leaves me reading the material, then disappears," Steve took a sip from his glass and there was an equally unimpressed look.

"I said the same thing." Loki piped up.

Steve offered a half-smile as he shook his head. “And here I thought it was just me you were avoiding. I wanted to apologize for what happened that night. Winter got defensive of the wing I guess, I had a talk with everyone and Bucky’s had a few talks with Winter since that about what happened. Apologies only mean so much, though, so… if you’re up for it, I’d like to make that whole thing up to you - and to Friday - at some point. I was thinking of hanging out at some point, but if you want I can have a talk with Stephen? See what’s going on there?”

“Kick his ass?” Loki suggested from behind Tony and Steve shot the man a look and shook his head.

“I’m not going to kick his ass. But if he’s mistreated you…”

"I-" Tony stopped for a moment, his cheeks flushed sheepishly "You don't have to apologize for anything, it is what it is, shit happens. You honestly couldn't have predicted it would happen and I didn't know Stephen would have reacted that way.

"It's fine, if anything I think I owe you an apology for disappearing for a few months, I was just caught in some sort of funk."

"So, let me get you a drink then and let me take you home tonight like I promised before." Steve looked hopeful at the prospect.

Tony looked over to Loki and the green rider grinned with a nod.

"Yeah, that sounds great - pick up where we left off!"

“Dinner first, though, at the very least. I’m famished,” Steve chuckled a bit, taking a peek at the menu and ignoring Loki’s laugh.

“Hmmm, am I the third wheel? Should I let you two have your date?” he hummed as he gave Tony a smirk. Steve’s face flushed slightly as he just concentrated on his reading. 

"Whoa-whoa! Date, hold on a sec there..." Tony matched Steve's face colour as the man began to slink away and join some other friends of his that were conveniently at the canteen as well.

Tony shot him a desperate look and the man only continued to grin as he slunk away.

They all chuckled and shot some glances their way as Steve and Tony were left alone in each other's company.

"Well then… If that's the case then we might as well treat it as such?" Steve seemed to poke lightly. And Tony's eyes were averted for a moment.

"I guess it couldn't hurt..." He added a bit shyly after.

“I mean, it’s a little bit of a blind date. I guess. A tiny bit. But uh… getting to know each other over dinner is a thing people do on dates, right?” the blond glanced at him with a little smile. 

"That or try to schmooze the other person into bed with you, but I get the feeling you're a little more classy than that." Tony quirked a brow with a smirk and stirred his drink. 

“Well then, whereabouts are you from? What made you decide to drop everything to be a dragon rider?”

"I'm from New York, so it was a far drive, but probably not as far as some people. Dragon riding had always been a dream of mine when I was younger, my friend actually was the one that pushed me to take the first step." Tony smiled. "What about you?"

“Oh! Where in New York? I’m from Brooklyn myself,” Steve grinned a bit at that. “But chasing your dreams and managing to accomplish them is really impressive! Good for you! We all need that friend who gives you the final push, right? I had a similar story, I guess. Bucky and I… we’ve been friends for years. I was pretty sickly when I was a kid and dreaming of what it would be like to ride a dragon kept me going through hospital trips and the like. When I was well again he kept pushing me and eventually the two of us looked up whether there was a hatching and made our way over. We were giddy, idiot teenagers, but we had dreams of glory. Neither of us expected we’d actually imprint - never mind _ both _ of us, but…” He gave a small shrug and a smile. “Howler’s the light of my life. He always makes me want to do better and _ be _ better.”

Tony had a soft smile at Steve's little life tale. "Upstate New York here, but the family was always moving around so it's hard to really say if I had a place I called home. I guess I came in with the opposite impression, I honestly wanted to imprint on a red, kind of had a crummy family life and I came here to get away from it all. I never expected to imprint on a gold of all of them - it was a little crazy." Tony laughed nervously trying not to come off as bragging. "I can't say I'd take it back for the world, I love Friday, I'm with you there, I don't know what I'd do without her now that I have her."

“I’m glad you have a place here. Hopefully, you’ll feel more welcome over time. It’s odd how dragons change you though, isn’t it? They’re like best friends and siblings and children all rolled into one. At least, it’s how I would imagine having kids to be,” Steve chuckled. “I completely understand the gold thing, though. I thought maybe a blue if I was lucky? A green seemed more likely, and even that I would’ve considered luck! But here I am riding the second biggest dragon in the Sanctum and I’m… honestly humbled by it all.”

The man fell silent as he took a long sip of his drink, watching Tony for a moment before smiling warmly again. “I think Tilly would’ve liked you, though. You’ll make a great Sanctum leader, I’m sure. I’ll be proud to call you mine when it’s time.” After a long moment, Steve looked immediately flustered, “my Sanctum leader that is, not mine like - not like you’d be mine or anything like that I just…”

Tony sputtered. He was mid-sip and he had taken in a mouthful that was possibly a little too big considering the comment. He put the glass down with a light thud, cheeks cherry red either from the drink or the comment.

Who knew?

"Well, that's mighty forward of you, though it's not like it was anything new. Every red rider around here's been flaunting around treating me like Friday and I are some sort of trophy, didn't expect that from you," Tony grinned and quirked a brow, enjoying that he caught the other’s slipup.

“No, I didn’t - I really didn’t mean it like that. I meant-” Steve rubbed at his face and took a few deep breaths, clearly embarrassed by his slip. “You’re a human being, not some prize to be won dammit. I really didn’t mean it like that - context! Context matters! I mean, it’s an entirely different thing if you _ chose _ me, but that definitely wasn’t how I meant it! A-and frankly I’d like to get to know you better before we made any kind of long term plans. Maybe I’m still a bit old fashioned but the way the Sanctum does things is still weird to me.”

Tony sat back on the barstool and watched Steve stumble over excuses. "Relax Steve, it's fine. For the record, you're one of the sweetest guys here and probably also the best looking as well… If I had a choice in the matter, I would honestly say I'd prefer you." Tony averted his gaze like a shy schoolgirl.

_ God, get ahold of yourself Stark. _

He cleared his throat. "Erm - anyway, it's not up to me though. It's any man's, well, dragon’s..." He fingered the crystal glass. "Yeah, I don't really understand the whole flight thing… I remember asking Stephen when we were still talking, and he was just… so sure, that asshole - that Levi was going to win. He said we'd wake up having slept with one another, but he was a little crasser in explaining it."

“... I wasn’t talking about the mating flights.” Steve gave him a concerned look for a moment, a touch of red still on his cheeks as he turned to face the man. “You do realize that you can choose a partner separately from how things turn out during the flight, right? Did no one explain that to you? The sex and relationship culture of the Sanctum is pretty weird but… I mean I can… explain if it helps?”

"I mean Stephen did go over it, but still..." Tony trailed off. "I've heard it, I think I mostly just have trouble wrapping my head around it all since it's such a culture shock not being born in a Sanctum, you know?" Tony took another swig, a little flustered. "I know I'm well within my right to see someone outside of the mating flights," he smiled.

“Oh, good. For a few minutes there I was worried that Stephen had somehow… painted it really weirdly. I was concerned I really did need to have a talk with him,” Steve sighed heavily at that, before reaching to pat Tony’s shoulder. 

“Anyway, just don’t forget that despite the mess that comes of mating stuff, you’re still free to choose. Find someone you love and don’t let mating stuff get in your way, alright?” The blond looked sheepish as he withdrew his hand, waving down Pepper to order his dinner, leaving her to refill his drink and look to Tony in question.

“Know what you want?”

"Yeah, whiskey sour," he sat there with that shy smile on his face not much more to say on the subject.

The two continued to chat through the night, they stayed to the bar until Friday had reached out to Tony asking when he was coming home and that's where he had to call the evening.

Loki had left an hour earlier to go flying with Steve's group leaving Tony with no other way than to be flown home by Steve.

"The babe is calling, I think it's about time I get home." Tony smiled "Shall we?" He was bold enough to offer his arm to Steve.

"It would be my pleasure." The man hooked an arm around Tony's and that was the first real bit of physical contact they'd made outside of arm pats and handshakes. It was like stating when Steve had touched him and Tony was sure at that point he definitely had a thing for him if his feelings weren't clear to him before.

Steve led him out to where Howler waited and the dragon lowered his head to greet Tony with a curious sniff and a soft crooning noise. Unlike Levi, the dragon didn’t extend his wing as a means of easily climbing aboard - but it seemed there was no need as Steve tugged down a small rope ladder and looked to Tony.

“Do you figure you’ll be able to climb up okay? I can go first and give you a hand up if you need, or I can stay here to catch you if you’d rather,” the blond smiled warmly as he watched the other. Howler tilted his head a little, keeping his wing tucked tightly against his side to allow the ladder to fall fairly flat against his side.

"C'mon Steve, I appreciate the chivalry but I'm no woman. I do have that baby muscle you know," he chuckled and climbed up onto the saddle, with a little struggling but he did it none-the-less. Definitely a lot more effort to climb a red than a green, that was for sure.

"I didn't mean it like that Tony," he laughed and hopped up after him, though putting Tony in front of him rather than behind like he usually rode on Hela or Levi with Stephen around.

Tony grabbed the handles of the saddle, peering over his shoulder at Steve, "I think I'm in the wrong seat here." He regarded Steve as the man unexpectedly put his arms around Tony.

"I think we'll manage?" The blond rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze of his arms. “You’ll have to learn what it’s like to fly like this eventually anyway. Where is Friday? At home already, or are we going to pick her up first?”

Tony felt the butterflies in his stomach and he regarded Steve whose head was right next to his, breath hitching. "A-ah she's at home, I'm afraid I'll have to call it a night here since I can't stay away from her too long," he tried to relax against Steve but he was damn well nervous.

"I'm just reluctant to turn you in for the night, I might be getting ahead of myself but I thought we were having a really good time," Steve spoke softly over his shoulder. He instructed his drake to take off towards Tony's ward, familiar where the Sanctum leader stayed.

"Yeah well, I do have a young one to look after and I can't be away from her too long, or keep her up too late either."

"Fair enough, there's always next time," he smiled, giving Tony another squeeze.

Levi greeted them with a small growl at first as Howler landed, before spotting Tony and watching the other red simply lower his head as he laid down to let Tony off. The lack of aggression from the red seemed sufficient for Levi to relax a little, though he kept most of his body between Friday and the other red dragon.

Steve was quick to slip down the ladder, offering a hand to Levi who gave a small snort before nudging his hand and then waited for Tony to come down. “Well, I’ll walk you to your door at least?”

"This is good, I want to spend some time with these two before I go to bed," Tony smiled and slid off of the dragon’s back with help from Steve. They were alone and it didn't matter if he went inside or not.

"Are you sure?" The red rider asked though it seemed he had something else in mind by walking Tony to the door of his ward.

"Yeah, thanks for the evening, it's been lovely. Do this again?" Steve still had his hands on Tony's hips, his back against Howler. He averted his gaze at being nearly caged in against the drake.

Steve hovered in his space a moment before leaning in to peck Tony on the lips. He didn't linger, a quick kiss that conveyed his interest but gave Tony enough room to move away and time to think on it.

Tony didn't return it but smiled nevertheless and moved away from him, though Steve's hands were reluctant to let go. "I'll see you again soon?"

"Yeah!" Steve laughed nervously. "Hopefully I don't have to wait a month and a half to see you again," he joked, climbing back onto Howler's back.

"Oh, I promise that won't happen again," he grinned, stepping back from the dragon.

“Alright, I’m holding you to it. Goodnight, Tony, Friday! And you too, Levi!” Steve offered his greetings all around before the red took off and disappeared into the night.

Levi gave a soft grumble as the others disappeared before prodding at Tony with his nose, sniffing him and seeming to check him over some as he slowly relaxed in his spot, before resting his head on the ground near Tony and giving a long, dramatic sigh. Friday peeked her head out from around Levi before scrambling her way to Tony and nudging at him, excited but clearly sleepy based on the way she stumbled over her own feet on her way over.

Tony gently ran his hands over the red's face, petting him and showing him some affection before wrapping his arms around Friday's neck and embracing her. "Missed you two, I'm heading to sleep, you’re welcome to join us Levi, the room is big enough for you and Friday so long as your master isn't worried about where you are.”

Friday was licking Tony's face, towering above him in such a short time. He scratched her soft scales, they were only half hard but still soft enough to massage her. Levi gave a low grumble, before slowly getting to his feet and stretching himself out some, wings flaring and maw opening in a large yawn before he settled again to nose at Friday and her rider both.

_ <He can’t, he says Stephen will be expecting him when he’s done.> _ Friday informed him even as the larger dragon sniffed at Tony’s hair for a moment and turned to leave. His wings spread once again and the dragon disappeared just as the one before him had, leaving Tony and Friday alone.

_ <What took you so long? Did you have fun? Did you make a new friend?> _

_ <Yeah, I did! I'm sorry I took so long, I hope Levi was good company?> _ Tony closed the door behind them as Friday followed him inside.

_ <He was, I enjoyed spending the day with him, I really like him, a lot.> _ Her tail wagged excitedly, she perked every time she talked or heard about him.

_ <I have a favour to ask of you Friday, and this is something that will benefit us both,> _ Tony dropped his bags down at the door, too lazy to actually put his things away.

_ <Oh? What is it, Tony?> _ she shadowed him over to the bed.

_ <Loki said he can take me to see one of the other gold riders in London, it would be a night affair, I wouldn't be gone long but I wanted to talk to them about you and get some advice on your kind. I know books can only do so much but having an actual gold rider to talk to would be so much more insightful.> _ He sat down on the bed and began to stroke the gold's head softly as she placed it in his lap.

_ <We’re going away?> _ the gold inquired softly, settling in but staring at him curiously. _ <Not for too long? I’ll miss Levi. Can I say goodbye before we go?> _

_ <You're not going away, I am - just for one evening. I was hoping you would be okay with staying here with him while I was gone.> _ Tony continued to gently stroke the gold drake’s head as she turned her face into his stomach for affection. _ <I need to speak with one of the gold riders from another Sanctum, I'd be back before you knew it!> _

_ <I might get lonely with you gone though!> _ she whined softly.

_ <I know. I'd take you but Loki tells me it's dangerous for young ones to travel that kind of distance through blinking,> _ he rested his hands on her cheeks.

_ <Alright, as long as you are only gone one night - I'll miss you!> _ she climbed onto the bed and laid down on him, knocking him over with her weight.

_ <I'll miss you too Fri.> _

The pair cuddled close, with Friday nearly suffocating him under her weight with her desire to be near him for the night, but it didn’t stop either of them from getting comfortable enough to sleep. Friday, in particular, fell asleep with ease, but Tony was awake a good hour after she’d fallen asleep, lost in his thoughts.

Tomorrow, he’d meet another gold rider. Tomorrow he’d learn, and prove he was capable of educating himself without Stephen’s input. Tomorrow he’d have to leave Friday, but it would be for her own sake. As he was falling asleep his fingers moved to touch his lips as he thought about what the day had brought, however. Many a sweet promise about what tomorrows of the future might hold.

* * *

The next day passed without incident, with Tony spending much of it reading outside in the sun with Friday sprawled across his lap and Levi acting as a backrest, and by 6PM Tony was fully outfitted and ready for his trip to London - since that’s where Loki had informed him they were going.

“You’ve let Friday know what’s going on?” the raven-haired rider inquired as he tucked a couple of things away into the satchel attached to Hela’s saddle.

"Yeah, she's aware of the plan, I told her I'd be gone for the evening and at most, the night." He finished packing his bag, Friday buzzing around restlessly as they tacked up the green drake and got ready to leave.

He turned to her and gave her neck one final hug and the drake propped her paws up onto Tony's shoulders in a mock hug, nosing his shoulder and face all around and licking him.

She then trotted up to Hela and Loki to give them some affection, bumping noses with the green and then nuzzling into Loki's side.

Tony walked over to Levi and gave him a few gentle pats and a few scratches at his jaw, the drake bellowed softly in return and nudged Tony. "Thanks again big guy, I know I've been asking a lot but this is for the betterment of all of us." He left the drake's side to hop up onto Hela's saddle, Friday going to Levi to watch the two take off.

_ <I'll be back before you know it baby girl.> _

_ <Be safe Tony, I'll miss you!> _ she chirruped as Loki got up on Hela’s back.

"Alright, good to go." He had his arms fastened around Loki's midsection and the rider smiled. 

"Hang on tight, this isn't like anything you've ever experienced!" The green drake pushed off, and in the blink of an eye, vanished.

For a moment that felt like forever, it was cold. 

_ Isolating. _

He couldn’t feel the dragon below him or the man he was holding - there was a profound nothingness and it felt as though the very air had been pulled from his lungs. For a moment he thought he saw something in the vast emptiness, and the more he tried to focus on it, the more it felt like was there was staring back…

It wasn’t so much as sight, or seeing something, but knowing something was there, the presence of being so entirely alone yet at the same time not. The deep abyss of darkness seemed to grow around him if even possible, as if he was a momentary spec in an ocean slowly drowning.

There was something there, and he could detect it far more easilythan the very dragon and rider he was with. For a moment a hazy object blurred in his vision, flashes of colours, purple? It was hard to make out, it almost seemed like a tendril, or a figure moving and undulating in the blackness. Tony narrowed his eyes, fixated on it and trying to discern what he was looking at. 

The deep darkness sucked the breath from him, strangling him, heart palpitating, panic-filled him and absolute dread beyond any he’d experienced before. His eyes flicked this way and that, restlessly moving behind Loki as he thought he might just be going out of his mind.

And just as the feeling began to overwhelm him, the sun broke through overhead, bright and welcoming, its warmth caressing his skin with the gentle touch of a lover as they swooped down towards an island that bore vast green fields and a towering building along a cliff edge. This didn’t look like London, but there was no mistaking that it was a Sanctum, and given what he’d been taught about Sanctums being built away from the main civilization, it made perfect sense to him that London’s Sanctum was perhaps not in London itself.

“How are you faring?” Loki asked him as their descent slowed and the wind ceased blocking out his ability to hear anything.

"A little woozy but I'm fine, that was… unexpected," Tony pressed his face into Loki's shoulder blades and the man laughed.

"First time blinking? Get used to it, because you're going to be doing it a lot as a Sanctum leader in the future," he chuckled, landing on one of the plateaus at the top where the gold riders ward was.

There was a massive red dragon perched outside of the ward and it eyed them curiously as Hela landed, obviously familiar with the dragon. Loki nodded to the red and it let out a soft snort as they landed and dismounted, walking up to the doors of the ward to knock upon the large wooden doors.

"Hopefully she's in, I honestly have no idea where to find her. But if that red dragon is who I think he is, then the red's rider is close and he will easily be able to tell us where she resides."

Tony adjusted his bag on his shoulder, looking around at the interior of the Sanctum. It was much different than the New York Sanctum, much more open to the outside yet everything seemed to be built into a mountain similarly to the New York Location.

“You’re looking for me?” A dark-skinned man approached them from one side, pausing for a moment as he observed the pair. “Ah, Loki. What brings you to London? Who’s your friend?”

Loki glanced up for a moment and offered a bit of a smile. “Ah, good. Daniel. This is Tony, he’s-”

“I know who he is,” Daniel interrupted, giving Tony a quick once over and a small frown. “Why didn’t Stephen bring you?”

“Well, that’s because-”

“I wasn’t asking you, Loki.” The man responded sharply and it seemed enough to silence the green rider as the man’s eyes settled on Tony again. “Why didn’t your mentor bring you?”

"Stephen and I haven't spoken in months, I needed to meet a gold rider for aid which is why I'm here. I took it upon myself to have Loki escort me here." Tony crossed his arms, this guy sure was welcoming, and they'd only just arrived.

Loki stayed quiet, hands folded behind his back as he stood back and watched the exchange.

“Months?” Daniel echoed, looking at Loki who simply nodded and shrugged. The man’s gaze focused on Tony again firmly. “I’ll bring you to the gold rider, but not until you explain to me what’s going on with you and Stephen. I left him in charge for a reason. What did he do?”

Tony frowned at the man's abrasiveness. "Let's just say I don't agree with his choice methods of teaching. I'm constantly looked down upon by him for not understanding things a Sanctum born would when I'm not even Sanctum born. He has no patience whatsoever so I've taken it upon myself to pursue learning on my own, without his aid."

“The Sanctum will be in good hands with a leader willing to take on the pursuit of education without being directed, but without any kind of guidance at all there’s no guarantee you’ll be adequately informed of the things you need to know by the right points in your training.” Daniel stroked his chin thoughtfully. “And you say you two haven’t spoken - is that since your fight?”

Tony narrowed his eyes a bit. "Yes, well, that's how it's been for the past few months. Wait, how… do you know about that?" Tony crossed his arms, looking back once again to Loki and then back at Daniel again.

“He sought me out for advice on the matter. He stated that he was feeling inadequate as a de facto leader and that he was concerned that he was ineffectual. He didn’t know how to approach you better on the subject of your training,” Daniel explained without hesitation. “I advised that you might need some time and space before accepting an apology and that he ought to wait until you approached him before he tried to apologize. I didn’t anticipate that it would be so… drawn out.”

Tony was quiet for a moment.

So that was why he hadn't said anything? All this time Tony had just assumed that Stephen was some egotistical prick with a superiority complex the size of the Sanctum, and boy was he wrong.

"I see… well, I came here to meet the gold rider of this Sanctum, I was hoping she might have some insight or advice for me. Not being Sanctum born, I've had a lot of struggles to deal with, especially since I'm not a woman."

“Hm, yes, I quite noticed,” Daniel gave a small smirk at that before turning away and waving. “This way. Maria is aiding with moving a variety of supplies around the Sanctum. She should be in the supply room at the moment. Please don’t comment on her pregnancy or offer to assist her, I assure you all that will do is earn you a glower of frustration. She hears it enough.”

Tony nodded and looked over to Loki, nodding and following Daniel down to the supply room. They both accompanied the red dragon rider and Tony nodded as he led the two men into the storage room where Maria was.

Though Tony couldn't shake the thoughts that maybe he'd been in the wrong with Stephen for a while after hearing what Daniel said.

* * *

The night was quiet. There were any number of beds he could’ve fallen into to ease the aching he felt, and any number of people who would have happily touted his virtues rather than his failings, but the fact was Tony had left without a word to him. He’d left to speak with others because as a mentor Stephen had failed him… and there was little Stephen hated as much as this overwhelming feeling of failure.

His arms curled around the head of the small dragon in his bed as he tugged up one of the blankets to cover her, feeling soft scales against his exposed chest and arms and at least finding her low rumbles soothing. Levi curled around the bed with his head resting on Stephen’s other side and he took comfort at least in their presence.

He supposed he was lucky that at least Friday didn’t seem to share Tony’s utter distaste of him. It wasn’t as though he’d been good with people before now anyway, but this was something altogether different. People were depending on him to get this right. People were expecting him to know how to deal with others.

People were expecting everything, and it felt like he hadn’t even been allowed the space to breathe before everything became his responsibility.

_ <You should sleep, Stephen,> _ Levi suggested quietly from his side and it was only the fear of waking Friday that kept him from scoffing.

_ <I wish I could.> _

_ <You’re not a bad person,> _ the precious beast informed him, nudging at him until Stephen moved a hand to rest on his nose. _ <You’re a good man.> _

_ <I’m letting the Sanctum down, Levi. I’m letting Friday’s rider down, I’m letting Tilly down…> _ Warm tears pooled in his eyes and he squeezed them shut tightly. _ <It doesn’t matter how good you think I am. I’m failing them.> _

_ <I love you.> _

_ <I know… I love you, too, Levi. But I need to do something to fix all of this.> _

Friday's nostrils flared at the scent of salt from his tears and she roused slightly, tongue flicking out softly to lap them up off of his cheeks, her crest flaring somewhat. 

Stephen was curled half around her neck, with an outstretched wing covering his lower body. She sensed the distress in her temporary companion and began to let out soft saddened whistles as her eyes cracked slightly and she nosed her way closer to Stephen.

_ <Just because one single human in the Sanctum hasn't come around to you, doesn't mean you've let all of us down,> _ the red breathed and likewise nosed at his rider's back.

Friday was half awake, intent on trying to soothe Stephen.

_ <You know it’s not just him,> _ Stephen responded. _ <It’s not just him. But even if it was just him, if I’m not teaching him properly, then I’m letting him down, I’m letting Friday down, and in the end that means I’m letting down the Sanctum on whole. He’s too important to this place to not make sure he’s at his best.> _

The man removed his hand from Levi’s nose to gently pet Friday and smooth down her crest as he sighed softly, whispering. “It’s okay, Friday. I’m sorry to have distressed you. Don’t worry. I’ll be fine…” He stroked her gently as he pressed a soft kiss to her nose. “Get some rest. I’m sure Tony will be home soon. He must miss you immensely.”

_ <Stephen--> _

_ <I’m going to sleep now, Levi. I’ll try and rest some, okay?> _

_ <... yes, Stephen. Goodnight.> _ The dragon let out a low noise as he nudged the man’s back once more and fell quiet, watching over his rider sadly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	5. Chapter 5

Tony had kept his word, he was gone for about five hours into the night. Needless to say, it was lonely sleeping alone when he'd returned and Friday wasn't there, but it was only fair given that he'd left her alone the entire day a couple of times.

The routine went as scripted, Tony showed up to the library to study and just as he assumed, when Stephen had shown up, he brought Friday along with him. Tony had his reading material splayed out in front of him and he couldn't help but turn to greet Friday outside as the trio landed.

He was immediately mowed down by a streak of gold as Friday barreled into him excitedly, knocking him down and licking his face. She smelled a little different today, but that was probably because she'd stayed with Stephen.

He greeted Levi as the dragon took up his seat outside the library and once inside, it wasn't long before he'd taken up his seat, considering what Daniel had told him and how he would break the ice with Stephen once the master walked through the door.

Regardless though, he owed it to Stephen with the knowledge that the man had apparently been struggling and seemed lost at sea in how to handle things.

The older rider seemed to take his time joining him, or perhaps Tony was just anxious thinking about things. Regardless, Stephen slipped into the library in his own time, murmuring a quiet ‘welcome back,’ before sitting himself in the chair he often took up, well away from where Tony tended to study, but not so far as to be unreachable. He opened a book in his lap and with that it seemed as though Stephen was content to allow the silence to stretch on between them once again.

"She's a great sleeping buddy, but soon enough she's going to be too big for the bed," he commented almost flatly, though there was the slightest hint of amusement in Tony's voice. He had his book drawn up, scanning the pages, still not mustering the courage to actually look Stephen in the eye. "I hope you didn't let her stay up too late."

Stephen seemed to take a moment to realize he was being addressed, slowly turning his head to glance at the other man before dropping his eyes back to the book. “She slept at a reasonable hour. I’m afraid I might’ve woken her in the night, but she settled down again soon enough.”

His teeth caught his lip for a moment before he opened his mouth, as though about to add more, before his hold on the book tightened and he simply closed it again, clearly struggling. It had been months since they’d had any kind of sustained conversation, it almost felt strange to have opened up to any kind of dialogue at all, but just when he thought Stephen had decided he was content with the silence between them, after all, he spoke again.

“I’m sorry, Tony.” It was short and there was no mistaking that it was hard for the man to say, but the words came out. “About before. I was out of line, and I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I didn’t mean to take out my frustrations with others on you. I really am… very sorry.”

_ Did he hear that right? _

Tony put the book down, folding the pages over on his thumb as he directed all of his attention to Stephen. "I think we both were a little out of line that night." He started, heart rate speeding up nervously as he tried to find the words to say. "I may have let my own personal problems affect how I responded to you as well." His fingers fidgeted with the book.

"I guess I owe you an apology too," he held out his hand to Stephen to shake. "Let's put this all behind us then?"

Stephen hesitated for a long while looking at Tony’s hand, his fingers curling into his palm before his own hand reached to take Tony’s in return, shaking in his palm. “I will do my best to guide you so long as my guidance is what you want. Otherwise… I’ll stay out of your way and let you take what initiative best suits you.”

Tony merely bumped the palm of his hand in Stephen's, hooking a finger around the space where his thumb and index were and mostly let Stephen lead the gesture given his disabled hands. "And I'll do my best to let you know where I'm running off to after lessons. I do feel like today Friday would appreciate spending some time in the water with Levi." The corner of his mouth quirked up in a momentary smile and he almost saw the same mirrored expression for Strange before he nodded and turned back to his reading material.

* * *

* * *

Tony had grown exponentially with his studies under Stephen's continued tutelage. They'd managed to sort out their differences in the classroom but that didn't stop the two from wildly bickering at times and getting into small verbal scraps with one another.

Tony had grown to be easily the most progressive of Stephen's students, yet difficult to work with. He questioned every lesson Stephen had and quite often disputed facts in search of full understanding if there was a lick of doubt in the teachings and it drove Stephen up the wall.

Friday had grown to about three-quarters of her true size and had finally learned to fly with the help of her red dragon companion. Given that the drake had taught her everything she knew they generally shared flight patterns. Though she started to grow wild just as her rider, racing off and challenging the red drake often enough to miniature games of cat and mouse where despite her size, she would give Levi a real run for his money.

It wasn't the speed of her flight however that gave her so much versatility but the quick wit about her and how rather than focusing on speed which she was clearly disadvantaged at to this point, focused on prowess and aerial acrobatics to worm her way out of the red's clutches in games of keep-away they both delighted in.

She never lost her wild streak and unlike how a human queen should carry herself, she was wild and free-spirited, often stepping up to challenge Levi in play combat. He generally lost to her on purpose, but there were times where she genuinely outsmarted him and even shocked their human riders.

She was becoming a lot like Tony, the two were almost seamlessly the same in personality and ferocity. Daring, intrepid, curious, driven, motivated and never shied away from a challenge.

Friday could easily make short flights to get Tony around the Sanctum, outfitted with her own temporary saddle and Tony had been so excited when he was finally able to ride his queen. Unlike his first time on a dragon where the turbulence of flying with Hela spooked him, he was daring the skies with Friday and the two of them behaved rather unconventionally for a to-be leader and his matriarch dragon.

He was to meet at the canteen with Loki and Steve after his lessons today. Loki, still his long-standing friend, close if not closer than ever before had become an integral part of Tony's life, and so had Steve and his wing.

Tony and Steve would see each other on and off, mostly due to the workload Tony had, which made dating much more difficult now that his studies had advanced by tenfold. It was less about learning about dragons now and more-so about the politics of the Sanctum and leadership, so his time wasn't nearly as expendable as it was when he'd first come to the Sanctum.

Tony often ended up standing Steve up, dick move - but for the most part, it wasn't his fault. Friday was growing into the respected matriarch that she was, dragons didn't try to assert themselves with her or scrap with her - rather most tried to flatter and woo her which drew more ferality from her supposed-to-be mate.

"So I had this idea - I wanted to go home and visit an old friend of mine, and I was thinking of taking Friday on her first long flight. It would be a total surprise."

"Oh Tony, I don't think Friday would be ready for a trip like that." Loki sipped at his mug looking to Steve.

"Yeah, she may be a gold but she's still not even grown to her full size yet. Even in adolescence a dragon still has trouble travelling long distances like that, you've only been able to get her to blink at most a three-hour trip, let alone trying to get her to go across the state. Let Howler and I take you." Steve offered up with some concern.

"I'm hearing you guys, but she's grown and she can almost fly circles around Levi, plus this is something I want to do alone and teach her..." And he wanted to show his old man up.

"Yeah but it's not the same," Steve started, putting his drink down. "Think of it like this, despite the distance travelled, blinking is still exhausting on the dragons. The longer the distance they blink, the more taxing it is on them mentally. Think of it like driving a long trip, say the longest trip you've ever driven was an hour, and now you want to plan to travel eight hours in a car." Steve paused gesturing with his hands, Tony was still listening.

"You start to get tired at the fifth hour into the trip because you've never driven the distance before - think road hypnosis or driving fatigue. The dragons go through the same thing and you risk having Friday fall asleep and getting stuck in a blink or she falls asleep and you both fall to your death or get seriously injured," Steve's mouth formed a flat line.

"I couldn't have put it better," Loki added, "Tony, this is a big risk. We aren't supposed to take our dragons out for long flights until they are fully matured. It will be much too taxing on her." The concern bled through Loki's voice.

"I can see we're clearly not going to be able to talk you out of this, at least let us know before you do take this trip so we can be ready if you two have any trouble." The two men seemed on edge as if it was a big risk and Tony didn't seem to comprehend it.

"Yeah, I'm confident we'll be able to do it, Friday's not your usual dragon. She's stronger than the lot and still has some serious hidden potential," Tony grinned, confidence bleeding off of him.

Loki and Steve looked at each other with unease.

“Just… consider whether it’s a risk you want to take with Friday. It’s not just you who’ll get hurt if something goes wrong.” Steve warned with a sigh before returning to his meal.

“Upstate New York then, huh? You know you can always invite your friend here. He’s the one who came with you to the hatching, right?” Loki finally asked, no longer trying to talk him out of it directly, but clearly trying to present other options.

Despite spending a while at the back and forth, neither of the riders had managed to change Tony’s mind or his confidence in his dragon, but he wasn’t exactly unaware of the looks they exchanged as they were all saying their goodbyes. Once Loki had disappeared, Steve stayed with him a moment to hold his hand carefully, pressing a light kiss to the back of it.

“Please let me know when you’re planning on doing this. I’m worried about you both. I want to trust in you, but it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want anything to happen to you, or to Friday…” he murmured softly, his clear blue eyes as earnest as ever.

"Hey, yeah I'll send you and Loki a text just before we head off, and then I'll let you know when we get there safely, how about that?" Tony smiled and he reached forward to wrap his arms around Steve's midsection in an embrace he held for a few moments.

The other man had seconds to return it before Tony pulled away, placing a hand on his face and turning back to Friday who was anxiously waiting behind him.

"Have a good night you two!" Tony waved as he climbed up onto Friday's back and she padded the floor a few times, bobbing up and down before she took a running leap towards the edge of the plateau. She launched herself into the air and with a few strong wingbeats she was soaring up to the ward.

Levi was waiting for her, unsurprisingly. He'd still been a constant in both their lives, just like Stephen and acted independently enough that one would think he had no rider.

Friday touched down and Tony slid off of her back and she remained outside, bobbing her head and dancing with Levi as he returned with his own strut enthusiastically.

"Get a room you two," Tony called as they bumped noses and Levi bellowed softly in response, focused on Friday as he churred softly and crooned at her.

The brunette went inside, packing his bag for tomorrow and got ready for bed, leaving the two dragons to their own devices. Friday was a big girl and didn't need Tony putting her to bed.

Laying himself out on his bed, he stared at the ceiling for a long moment imagining his father’s face when he showed up riding his beautiful dragon. The outrage on his face making his features turn entirely red, the jealousy, the way he’d start to mouth off just in time for Friday to intervene and scare the shit out of him.

He wouldn’t be bullied this time. This time he’d have back-up. That was the dream he fell asleep to.

The one he woke to was an excited gold dragon padding back and forth beside his bed, nudging at his face and flaring her wings to give them little flaps. Groggy though he was, the rider couldn’t help but smile at her antics, even as she grabbed the blanket to drag it off of him.

_ <Let’s go, Tony! We’re flying today, right? We’re taking a trip! Let’s fly, let’s fly!> _ It was altogether too much energy for so early in the morning, but Tony couldn’t keep himself from smiling at her enthusiasm.

_ <Soon. We should both eat before we go, and I have to write a note for Stephen so he and Levi don’t get mad.> _

_ <Ohhhh Levi would be very upset if we left without telling him,> _ Friday sat back on her haunches, agreeing with a little nod. _ <I can tell him now?> _

_ <If you tell him you know he’s going to stop us. Or tell Stephen, and there’s no way Stephen would let us go.> _

The dragon gave a low grumble at that before resting her head on the bed, watching as Tony got up to get dressed. _ <I suppose you’re right.> _

He reached to give her head a gentle pat at that, smiling a bit. _ <So, what do you want for breakfast?> _

_ <... can I have the big tuna? I’d love the big tuna!> _

_ <Anything for you baby-girl.> _ Tony got up and went to the basin outside of the apartment in just his boxers, there weren't many riders up in the section of the terrace so it wasn't like he had to worry about his decency as much.

He came back with a basket full of tuna, bass and a few nice fatty salmon for her, setting it down before fixing himself some leftovers from the night before. There was half of his burger and chips left in the take-out box and he settled for eating that, too anxious to take his time to make anything else.

They both ate in silence, the excitement a tangible force in the room before Tony pushed his plate back and stood up.

_ <I'm going to hop in the shower, won't be more than ten minutes and then we should be good to go.> _

_ <Hurry Tony! I want to go!> _ she looked up at him with a mouth full of fish before throwing her head back and letting it slide down her gullet.

Tony showered, got dressed and scrawled out the note. When Friday was done he tacked her up and they made a stop by the library to leave the note on the table. Once that had been done, Tony sent a couple of messages out to Steve and Loki to let them know he was leaving and that he'd also alert them to when he landed. With all the necessary preparations made and errands out of the way, he tucked his phone away and gave her a pat on the back.

_ <Alright babe, you ready?> _

_ <Yes, yes! Let’s go!> _

_ <Onward and upward! Let’s go!> _

They took off like a shot the moment he was fastened in, and he could feel Friday’s glee at being airborne washing over him, adding to his own joy. There was so much to do - so much to see! And there was no time that either of them felt as free as when they were flying. Friday dove and rose, and twisted through the sky, breaking through the clouds briefly before dropping back down low with Tony’s whoops of excitement lost on the wind.

_ <Ready to blink?> _ Friday inquired briefly, and with a smile, Tony exhaled.

_ <Ready.> _

The black overtook them, cold and foreboding and deeply uncomfortable feeling settled in his chest as it always seemed to. He felt watched. He felt as though something hungry was staring at him. He felt like prey in here - he always felt like prey here, as though something was lurking in the darkness and waiting, biding its time.

The sun broke through again before Tony could even inhale. He wasn’t entirely certain where they were, but given Friday hadn’t been very far from the Sanctum he knew the rest of the flight would at least lack the discomfort of blinking. He patted her neck and she gave a pleased grumble beneath him as they passed over a couple of small towns, with Friday asking questions every so often as they did.

A giant ice cream cone, in particular, gave her a moment of pause as she tried to determine whether she could eat it - Tony promised her ice cream one day, but it wasn’t the time now, leaving her to shrug that off.

So far so good as far as Tony was concerned - and his phone seemed to agree. They’d made it almost half way there and Friday was showing excitement and enthusiasm, and no signs of fatigue.

_ <How are you holding up, baby girl?> _ he asked a good five hours into the flight as he noticed her beginning to dip.

_ <I’m okay! Are we almost there?> _ she inquired, though there was an edge to her emotions that he was starting to feel.

_ <We’re still a little ways out… Do we need to rest?> _ His concern must’ve been enough to bleed through as she twisted her head to look at him, drooping a little further before straightening out a bit.

_ <No, I’m okay…> _ she insisted, moments later proving herself quite wrong.

Her right wing seized and buckled, and before either of them quite knew what was happening they were plummeting towards a lake beneath them. Tony’s mind was shot with panic as they began to spiral, knowing full well that she wasn’t going to be able to spread her wings at this pace and getting her to pull up was going to prove an issue. If they hit the water at this speed it would be no different than hitting concrete…

Friday’s heart pulsed quickly under him, or perhaps it was his own heart racing that he felt so strongly, he didn’t know. _ <Friday? … C’mon sweetheart, you have to pull up some…> _ he tried to encourage her, and with a short yelp she managed to flick her wings out enough to steady their descent, dragging a little over the top of the water before crashing into the shoreline with a sickening snapping sound, and enough strength to throw Tony from his saddle despite the fastenings around his legs that should have kept him in place.

He felt a sharp pain in both of his legs and heard the soft cry of his dragon as the blackness overtook him.  


* * *

Friday attempted to bend her wing closed but there was too much pain. Her back left leg was similarly in just as much discomfort and she let out a loud cry that echoed over the mountains. She felt dizzy, light-headed and nauseous, she was disoriented and didn't know where they were - heart-pounding, terrified and stranded far from home.

They had crashed somewhere in a mountain range and there was nothing around them but trees and the small basin that by some miracle managed to dampen the brunt of their fall. She couldn't spot any roads or signs, no small towns either.

Friday looked around, dazed as she kicked her sore foot and dragged herself closer to her rider. There was a smattering of gold scales littering the ground behind her in the wake of her crash, her body bruised in some places, bleeding and lightly scratched in others.

_ <Tony!> _ She bellowed loudly and pulled herself up, limping over to him slowly. She managed to get to his unconscious form and turn him over on his back.

_ <Tony! Wake up!> _ She nudged the unconscious man with her nose, dread growing inside her.

_ <Levi! Are you there?! Levi!> _ Another loud roar and birds scattered from their perches as she sank down beside Tony trying to wake him, fear gripping her at the state of her rider.

_ <Please wake up!> _ Her bellows lowered to soft groans and she lowered her head beside him to rest, it was difficult to keep her head aloft, too exhausted to move any further. Too dazed to comprehend everything right now.

_ <...Help...> _

_ <Friday!> _ A rush of warmth washed over her and in moments two familiar red dragons landed, Levi beside her with his rider quickly dismounting and moving to Tony’s side, and Howler and his rider to the other side, with the blond man Tony was so friendly with joining Stephen soon enough. Two more arrived, and finally the last pair of reds with their riders arrived on the bank.

“Mordo, Thor, I need you both to retrieve some medical supplies from the Sanctum,” Stephen ordered rather sharply and there was no denying in that moment that he sounded like a leader, at least to Friday’s exhausted and frightened ears. The men mounted their dragons once again and disappeared to retrieve what they were ordered to gather.

_ <He’s alive. Stephen will take care of him,> _ Levi soothed beside her, draping a wing over her without making contact, even as Stephen continued to dole out instructions to the humans. _ <Your wing is damaged. Does anything else hurt?> _

_ <My head. My heart…> _ she added after a moment, whimpering softly and tilting her head to keep a wary eye on Tony.

Levi gave a low, soothing purr as he rested his head beside hers to nuzzle her gently. _ <Stephen will need to check you over once he makes sure Tony is taken care of, okay?> _

_ <Yes that's fine, just make sure Tony is ok...> _ She craned her head to nudge Levi's nose but the sudden rush of nausea caused her to lower it again and rest back on the ground. _ <I don't think I'll be able to fly, there’s too much pain right now, and I can't see straight,> _ she chirruped sadly.

There was a wash of relief knowing Tony was alive and everyone was here to help them. With all the warnings, maybe they should have paid closer attention to what her friends were trying to say.

She was in such a rush to go exploring, to go adventuring, that they had overlooked all the warning signs.

In an instant, the absent red riders reappeared with the requested supplies. Thor moving immediately to Stephen's side while Mordo focused on taking care of Friday's open cuts. They weren't deep, just some scratched scales on her hide and claws, chipped scales that would eventually grow back with the next moult so all the surface level damage didn't seem to be too serious.

She didn’t know what they’d done with Tony, but soon enough Stephen made his way over to her, brushing at her head some gently. 

“I’m going to take a look at your wing and your leg… this is going to hurt sweetheart, I’m so sorry…” He stated softly. “But I need to make sure you’re okay, alright? You let Levi know if anything hurts in particular. He’ll make sure I know. We’ll get you all braced up and then we’ll all go home, okay? We’ll be able to take better care of both of you at home.”

Friday gave a soft noise at that, nudging at his hand, fully aware that the man couldn’t hear her anyway, but he seemed to take that as the approval it was given as he moved towards her wing.

“Steve, bring the splint please?” He requested as he knelt by her wing and Levi nuzzled in against her side to try and offer what comfort he could. Friday watched as the blond pressed a light kiss to Tony’s forehead before getting to his feet to carry the splint over, resting her head against the red dragon at her side and watching Stephen and Steve both, yowling in pain as they shifted her wing.

_ <You’re okay?> _ Levi checked as Stephen glanced over, and Friday gave a softer whimper.

_ <It hurts… but… they’re helping?> _ she couldn’t help that the words were a question. She trusted them, but how could something that hurt so much be helping?

_ <They’re helping. They’re setting the bone in place and bracing it so that it will heal properly, otherwise, you might not fly again,> _ Levi explained softly. < _ Stephen is sorry it hurts. The same will happen with your leg, I’m afraid.> _

There was another loud yowl as they clamped the splint down on the boney part her wing, she immediately felt the stiffness, the appendage now rigid and immobile. Her heart rate sped up and she flinched, trying her best not to move as they finished fastening her wing.

_ <I can't move my wing, Levi what's going on?!> _ She made to turn around and the red dragon stopped her from looking, keeping her head in place with his own.

_ <They need to splint it, let them help you, Friday.> _ He licked her cheek as the two finished and moved over to her back leg.

_ <Stay calm for me my queen, they are going to do the same with your foot now.> _ She tried to keep her head down, Levi's words the only thing comforting her through the pain, agony, all of it! Her Tony was unconscious, her wing and leg hurt, she wished it could all be over.

They began to set her foot and she let out another pained cry, just as loud as the last, the pain this time was constant for a good five seconds, causing her to thrash this way and that until the bone was set and she nearly passed out from the pain.

Mordo instructed Thor to bring over the second splint and Thor managed to keep her foot still while they tied it off.

With all of her wounds properly and temporarily tended to, Stephen nodded to Levi and he nosed his way under her belly so he could prop her up onto his back, her legs and paws caging his wings so she was jet-packing him.

_ <Can you hold on? Tight?> _

_ <Yes, I can. Please get me home as fast as possible.> _ She cried softly, her head falling over Levi's shoulder. _ <I want to be with Tony...> _

“Friday, sweetheart…” Stephen approached her head again, giving her a gentle pat. “Keep holding tight, okay? We’re going to get you and Tony home. It will be quick, but blinking is going to make the spots that hurt ache really badly. Once you’re home we’ll give you something to help you rest and make the pain go away. Tony will be with you the whole time. I promise,” his hand moved over his heart, “I won’t let him be away from you. I’ll take care of him, and you’ll both fly again soon…”

There was something in his face, a deep pain, a sadness she’d seen once before a long, long time ago as he gently pet her arm, before stepping away to climb aboard Howler. “Levi… take her home. Bring her to Christine.”

The red dragon nodded even as Howler lifted Tony in some sort of cloth up to Stephen to allow the man to cradle him. Steve joined the two men on Howler’s back as Levi spread his wings and rose into the air.

_ <I’ll make this quick, Friday. I’m sorry for any pain it might cause you,> _ Levi lamented as they entered the cold and dark, and the freezing of it penetrated her wing and leg, though there was no way to express her pain in the silence of the blink. The moment they came out the other side, her head swivelled around in search of Tony, even as Levi took her somewhere she'd never been before.

Howler appeared above them just as Levi touched down, and the remaining red riders slowly blinked in and dispersed.

Levi instantly took her towards the medical bay. It was an open hollowed out archway exposed to the plateau where the riders landed. Her eyes darted around at the people with her, constantly keeping Tony in her sights, stressing and yelping every time her wing and leg were moved.

Christine ran out towards them, some human Friday had never met before, she was directing them to put her down on a cot that was ready in an open stay area and she let out a loud howl once again as her limbs were moved and shuffled around so they could place her on the cot.

_ <Tony - bring him to me, where's Tony!?> _ she started to panic, although within her vicinity, he was out of eye-sight and the rider and dragon had been separated enough in this dire time that she began to panic from the stress of separation anxiety.

_ <Just a moment, he's on his way. I need you to stay calm my dear,> _ Levi crooned softly, trying to settle her down, staying by her side.

Howler had lowered Tony down onto an awaiting stretcher and a few nurses carted him quickly over to an awaiting hospice bed next to Friday. They laid him down and began hooking him up to the machines to run a diagnosis on him.

_ <Tony… Wake up,> _ she mewled softly, trying to reach out and nudge him with the tip of her snout.

<Rest, he’ll wake in time,> Levi continued to try to soothe her, giving a low rumbling noise as Stephen joined them, looking anxious and uncertain as he watched the humans who swarmed around Tony. He looked how she felt, she thought for a moment as the man’s hand rested on her nose.

“Christine will take care of him,” the man murmured softly, “I’m going to give you a shot. It’s going to pinch a little bit - like when your scales catch on something - but after that you won’t hurt as much, alright? Will you let me do that? Tony will be close, but both of you need to rest. You need to sleep to get better.”

He showed her something she was unfamiliar with as he spoke but made no move to do anything with it as he did.

Friday nodded and Stephen administered the injection. It was just as he'd promised, a small pinch that elicited an intermediate yip from her and then nothing.

Everything was still in pain, and she was about to mewl and whine again to Levi when she experienced a headrush and her body started to go completely numb. Her heart began to palpitate in panic as she couldn't feel anything, but soon enough came the release of dopamine in her brain and she relaxed, slowly setting her head down beside Tony's bed and easing. Lastly, her lids felt incredibly heavy and a calming blackness overtook her as the corners of her eyes began to darken and she was lulled into a peaceful rest by the sedatives.

Levi stayed by her side, curling his tail around her form and extending a wing encompassing her. He nestled his head down beside her and laid there on the floor, only his eyes open, moving around and watching as her rider was tended to with great care.

* * *

Like her rider, Friday slept for a lengthy amount of time. Tony was still passed out without even the need to have any sort of anesthesia or gas to put him under.

The doctors determined he had a mild concussion as well as a broken leg - his femur to be exact. They needed to set the bone and operate on him, installing temporary stainless steel rods and screws within his leg to drill the bone in place while it healed and then a plaster cast overtop which had been marked and signed by his various friends that stopped by to check on him. Even Stephen wrote a small 'Get well soon' as plainly as he could on the side of it, slightly out of direct eye-shot.

Steve, Loki and Stephen had all taken turns visiting and looking over him. Stephen spent the most time, only leaving when he had to mentor other students or attend meetings. He generally brought reading material with him into the ward so he could work while he watched the rider and his dragon sleep. 

Loki came around after his duties for the day were fulfilled, but he could only shirk his responsibilities for so long. Finally, Steve spent the shortest, his duties called him away as much as he tried to take the time off he simply couldn't, but as soon as his shifts were over he would come around. He brought a vase brimming with red and yellow marigolds and set them on his bedside table.

Stephen had returned for the last shift just as meals were being served, a basket of fish set down, one for each of the drakes and sandwich, some diced veggies and an apple juice left on the tray of Tony's bedside table for in case he woke up.

The man took a long moment to look Tony over, checking his chart for any changes and speaking briefly with an exhausted Christine, before moving to check on Friday as well. <_ How’s she doing? _> he inquired of her sentinel, and the dragon gave a soft huff.

<_ She hasn’t woken. Neither of them has. I can feel her pain still, she keeps aching for Tony. She’s afraid in her dreams… _ > Levi explained as he curled around her more protectively. < _ Christine says she wants to administer another painkiller, but that it will cause Friday to sleep longer. She also said that if Friday wakes and starts fussing too much she could make her healing time longer. _>

Stephen gave a sigh at that as he ran a hand over the gold’s nose gently. <_ She was fairly fussy when we tried to put it on. And I don’t want her to panic about Tony being asleep, either. It might be best that we keep her under until she’s healed… or at least until Tony wakes up. _>

<Y_ ou’re sad… _> Levi nudged at his rider, and Stephen rested his head against the red’s muzzle.

<_ Of course I’m sad. I don’t want either of them hurt and I expect Tony’s going to be angry and defensive despite that he and Friday both deserve a stern scolding for this. This was foolish and they were warned but they didn’t listen. What if one of them had died? _>

Levi gave a low growl at that. <_ They didn’t. _> Clearly the dragon wasn’t pleased with that line of thinking.

<_ But what if they had? _ > Stephen insisted. < _ It’s not as though I expect Tony wanted anything to happen to either of them, and I’ve mentioned the effects of Riders dying and dragons dying before but… it might be time that he saw it for himself. _>

The red dragon tilted his head a little, watching his rider carefully. <_ Do you plan to introduce him to Tilly…? _>

<_ It might be time, _ > Stephen reiterated, stepping away from the dragon to take a seat at Tony’s bedside. < _ He needs to understand. And it’s not as though I don’t think he’s going to feel like shit anyway when he sees the state that Friday’s in, but he deserves to have a full understanding. _>

<_ Are you going to be okay? _>

<_ It doesn’t matter. He needs to know. _>

The two exchanged a long stare, but there was an understanding in the sombre silence of the room. Levi laid his head back down again and Stephen continued to gaze down at the two of them as he watched the red gently preen her crown of scales with the tip of his beak.

Christine brought in another injection by request of Stephen and Friday slept through the night, and though her body slept, her mind was at war with the happenings of today despite Levi being there by her side to offer the comfort she so desperately needed.

* * *

The night passed and morning came. The nurses made their rounds and Loki and Stephen both stopped by together in the morning with a few of Steve's wing to sign his cast, but it was late afternoon when Tony finally began to stir.

His head was pounding and the first thing he did was open his eyes to late afternoon sun, bleary-eyed and disoriented as he looked around and identified by all the white that he was in a hospital ward. He vaguely recalled the crash, standing up and then falling right back down as his vision went black, and now he was here.

There were attempts to move but those were hindered and an agonizing pain shot through his leg as he attempted to sit up. He clenched his teeth and looked down seeing the long white cast around his left leg, cringing.

He couldn't see Friday from the angle he was reclined at, and instinct made him call out here name rather than thinking it. "Friday...?" He murmured the inquiry weakly as he tried to lift his head, dizzy to look around. The gold was still sleeping on the cot, and Levi at her side, stirring when he heard the faintest sound.

“She’s asleep. Recovering,” a woman’s voice murmured as she made her way over and offered him a smile. He didn’t know her, but she had a kind smile and as she approached she maneuvered the bed Tony was laying on so that he could see the faintest bit of gold that showed from amidst where Levi had curled.

The red lifted his head and gave a trumpeted greeting, stretching his neck out to nuzzle Tony tenderly and offering a quieter croon before withdrawing his wing from over her to allow the man a better view of the sleeping gold.

“Levi’s taking good care of her. She has a broken wing and leg, and a mild fracture in her forward paw, but she’ll recover. We have her sedated for the moment because we didn’t want her to panic at your continued sleep, especially while she’s injured as well. From what I hear she was rather fussy when they were attempting to set her up for safe transport back here,” the woman continued to explain as she brought over a cup of water with a straw and offered it to him. 

“Drink up. There’s some food prepared for you, and it’s going to be a little bit until you’re walking, as well.”

Tony placed his hands on Levi's snout and gave him a few tender strokes. "Thanks for looking out for us Levi." With a weak nod, he appropriated the glass of water and regarded Christine with a weak smile. "Thanks." He fumbled around for the controls on the bed so he could incline himself into a sitting position to make it easier to speak and drink. 

The red simply rumbled softly and laid back down, curling around Friday once again and lowering his wing atop her protectively.

Friday looked so tranquil curled up with Levi, but he could sense her distress deep in his chest despite her sleep, it saddened him to know that all this was his fault. He'd been warned by everyone not to do this and because of his stupid god-damn ego, he nearly got the two of them killed. He put her in danger and felt a pang of overwhelming guilt overtake him - but he was surely going to eat crow from Stephen when he got here.

"Ugh… How long was I out?" He regarded the doctor and sipped at his water, a small sip and then his body truly registered how thirsty he was and the entire glass had been downed in a matter of seconds, so quick he coughed as he choked mildly on the last sips of his water.

“About three days. You’ve had company most of that time, though I expect Stephen will be here any time now that Levi knows you’re awake. If you want my advice? Play in to how much you’re worried about Friday. It’s kind of taking advantage of a weak spot for him, but it’ll make your first days awake easier,” Christine advised as she took the glass to get him some more water.

She’d barely left when Stephen arrived, the expression on his face filled with an unfamiliar wash of worry. That wasn’t a look that Tony was used to on that face and as the man approached he glanced briefly to Friday before taking up a seat beside Tony.

“Hey… how are you feeling? How are you holding up?”

For a brief moment, Tony could only chuckle weakly. “Did you… run all the way here?”

“So what if I did?”

"I guess you got your exercise for the day then, who knew flexing all those brain muscles made you so good at cardio..." His response tapered off as if he'd lost the gusto to jest with the other mid-sentence.

The smile just as soon faded and there was a sensation deep within his chest, a void as he thought about playing up his concern. It wasn't something he needed to really play up since he had a lot of mental baggage at the moment surrounding that.

He didn't know how he felt about Stephen rushing over when he'd first seen him, but he felt the ice in his veins like he was preparing for the lecture of his lifetime, dreading it.

He didn't need someone to tell him something he already knew, he'd learned his lesson and the price to pay for his mistakes was costly, so costly that another suffered for it.

“She’ll be okay,” Stephen seemed to read the room easily enough, reaching to touch Tony’s wrist lightly and dropping his eyes to the bed for a moment, though the hand retreated quickly as Christine returned to offer Tony his water. “She helped us find you, she’s spirited and strong. The break in her wing was clean, so it should heal quickly enough, but she’ll likely take a bit longer before she’s walking comfortably. We thought it was best to keep her under so that--”

“He knows, Stephen,” the woman offered a little smile. “I already told him why she’s asleep.” She touched Stephen’s shoulder and the man’s hand rested on hers for a moment as he exhaled a slow breath, before she left once again.

“Your femur,” Stephen began again, clearing his throat and folding his hands in his lap, “is broken in two places. You’ve got a hell of a scar where they put in a rod to help that heal straight, but that seems to be the worst of your injuries. You had a concussion but there were no signs of any major brain damage so…”

Tony didn't interrupt Stephen, he accepted the glass and kind of gazed blankly at it. He couldn't help but fixate on Stephen's words, gaze averted half due to not wanting to meet Stephen's face and confer to him the shame laden in his features, the other half a product of the concussion as he had trouble keeping his gaze focused on closer items. His voice was almost echoey in his ears and he felt his body start to stiffen, wondering when Stephen was going to just let him have it.

"Yeah… One hell of a scar. I can't imagine I'll be walking for months," he laughed dejectedly at his condition. A punishment to fit the crime, it was all so awfully perfect. He didn't know what to say next, so to fill the silence he lifted the glass to his lips and took a sip.

“At least you’re both alive,” Stephen responded, and Tony winced at the hint of an edge to it. “It could be a lot worse than being grounded for a while. So are you going to tell me why this was so important that you felt the need to ignore the warnings of your friends?”

He could feel the man’s eyes on him, hear the tremble of the man’s voice as he fought to remain calm. “Because if you wouldn’t listen to them, then I can’t imagine I would’ve been able to talk you out of it. So what was so important?”

And there it was.

Tony continued to stay quiet, the glass lowered and he continued to drone out, staring at his lap. His fingers clenched around it, capillaries going white under the pressure.

"I've got nothing for you, I don't make excuses Stephen. I did what I did, and that's all there is to it." No matter the answer, it wouldn't lessen the blow, so why even bother defending himself? He'd taken a risk and he'd put two lives in danger. There was no possible excuse he could give to belie a reasonable response.

_ So why even bother? _

Stephen remained silent for a few minutes after that, before getting to his feet again quietly. “Get some rest. Tomorrow we’re going to go visit someone,” the other man sighed softly. “And eat something, okay? You’re both alive and if you’ve learned something from this… then there’s little more I could ask of you.”

_ Visit someone? In his condition? _

Tony was hard-pressed to figure out how disability worked in the Sanctum and just how he'd be able to get around. He finally tore his gaze away from his lap to watch the master retreat. His mouth was a flat line on his features and he sat there quietly just holding the glass as Stephen stalked away.

He was off the hook for now, but he knew deep down he surely hadn't heard the end of it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW this chapter for panic attacks.

The morning was a bit of a mess but Tony found himself settled into a wheelchair with the help of both Loki and Christine. At first, in his groggy state, he wanted to make a comment about how Stephen was simply standing there and not helping, but as wakefulness came over him (along with a hot cup of coffee) Tony realized that Stephen likely couldn’t have helped much with his hands as they were. Of course, that was why it surprised him when he waved the others off and held the wheelchair himself to begin moving Tony.

“Friday is still likely to sleep most of the day but we shouldn’t be away too long anyway and we won’t be far in case she does wake. Levi will let me know and we’ll make our way back here,” Stephen explained quietly. Tony’s hands curled around his cup of coffee as he listened and heard so much more than the man was saying.

There was some apprehension in the man’s voice and it wasn’t helping Tony’s nerves any to think that whoever it was he was supposed to be meeting made Stephen nervous. If there was something else to it, it was hard to say.

“Who are we meeting?” He finally asked as they turned a corner into another part of the hospital, this one quieter than where they’d been before and much too small for a dragon to fit.

“The former queen rider,” Stephen responded, his tone softening considerably. “Her name is Tilly.”

“Isn’t this someone I should have met a while ago then?” Incredulity filled him for a moment. He’d thought the woman was dead. People had made it clear that her dragon had died and there had been no suggestion that the former leader was still alive and yet…

And that was when it struck him.

Her dragon was dead. He’d been told that riders became… different after their dragons died. Was this his punishment? To see what might have become of them?

“I wasn’t ready to share her with you,” the red rider admitted quietly, his voice unusually gentle and laced with shame. “Perhaps if I had sooner you wouldn’t be injured now. But we can’t live our lives on what-ifs, so… now is as good a time as any, I suppose.” 

He felt the breaks on the wheelchair click into place and Stephen moved around him to open the door with trembling hands. Something told him he wasn’t going to like what he saw when they entered the room, the bright morning light met him and a woman dressed all in yellow sat staring out the window overlooking the fields that surrounded the Sanctum.

“Tilly… I brought a guest,” Stephen greeted softly, though the woman gave no indications that she’d heard him as Stephen once again unlocked the wheelchair to bring Tony into the hospital room, closing the door behind them and guiding Tony over to where the bald woman sat, silently.

Tony was starting to feel incredibly uneasy in the room. The woman hadn't even acknowledged their presence when they both opened the door, nor now that they'd come into the room and settled.

He watched Stephen walk to her side and lay a hand gently on her shoulder, it was unlike the man he'd gotten to know - a side he was witnessing of his mentor that he'd not seen before and there was a slight ache in his chest for some reason at the idea of how closed-off Stephen was around him and why it took such a dramatic turn of events to prompt seeing Stephen's full range of colours.

Tony peered at the lady, distinctly uncomfortable in her presence. She seemed like a hollow shell and no one needed to be told that the lady was basically empty inside. The way she stared out the window with her crystalline eyes, looking but not really seeing anything as if she was stuck in a trance.

A shiver ran down Tony's spine and he wanted nothing more than to leave the room, but this was probably just another form of punishment he'd have to face for his unrepentant venture. Stephen planned this, though he wasn't sure if he was supposed to perceive it as a slight or a warning.

The discomfort was laden in Tony's voice as he finally cut through the veil of silence, looking from Tilly to Stephen. "What the hell is wrong with her?" It was explicit but all of this was haunting, her blank eyes, that pale skin, her motionless form. 

Had she not been breathing he would have thought her a statue.

“She lost a part of herself,” Stephen responded as he adjusted the blanket over her waist and tried to encourage the woman to have a sip of the water that was set on a table beside her. “She used to be so serene and calm. It seemed like she knew the answers to everything… an endless pit of wisdom. She was a mother figure to me and to many other Sanctum born. About four months before you came to join us, Tao, her dragon, died of an illness that swept through the dragon population. Many of the riders took their own lives rather than being faced with the emptiness of being without their dragons. Others became like this. Hollow, empty vessels that used to be people.

“In my heart I know she’s not really here anymore. I know she’s not going to come back and I think I knew that when Daniel left. But I can’t… lead this Sanctum on my own and if she’d died I don’t know if I could’ve managed any of my responsibilities. Daniel couldn’t handle being here without her, though. They loved each other, I think. He couldn’t stand to see her like this. We argued. He told me he would have rathered she’d died as well and I was furious with him for it. After the last few months I’ve had to realize that there’s nothing left here, not really.”

The woman sipped at some of the water before Stephen set the cup aside and took a seat between her and where Tony’s wheelchair sat. “If you had died, Friday would have blinked and never come back from that space in between. If Friday had died… this could’ve been you. The idea that I somehow might have let you down enough that this could have been your fate is… intolerable. I  _ will _ do better. But I need your help with that.”

So this was why he was here. It all made sense now.

He couldn't stand looking at the woman, he couldn't even look in her direction either. The idea that this was the life he'd lead if he had somehow gotten Friday killed? The light of his life - she meant the world to him and he felt an overwhelming sense of dread at the idea of her taking her own life if he had passed, or worse yet, turning into what this woman had turned into if she had died instead.

Tony gripped the arms of the wheelchair and he felt his heart palpitate raggedly in his chest, his breathing began to speed up and he didn't realize that he couldn't breathe out his nose anymore and instead had to breathe out of his mouth.

It was hard to breathe, why was it hard to breathe?! There wasn't enough oxygen in this room, he needed to get out!

Tony looked around frantically, his face sheet white almost as he looked for some means of escape.

"Steph-" he panted, heaving in large breaths of air, his head was dizzy, he felt light-headed, the walls were closing in on him. "I need to get out of here, I need to get to Friday." He blurted out hysterically. His head was snapping around and his hands shook as he tried to spin the wheels of his wheelchair towards the door so he could leave.

He needed to get out of here, he needed to see Friday, make sure she was ok!

How could he have done this to her...

He was a lousy partner to her, she deserved better.

He didn't have the strength to move, not now. He put his hands over his face and balled up in his wheelchair, shivering uncontrollably, hoping if he blocked himself off from the world it would all stop - maybe this was all a nightmare, maybe he was delusional.

“Tony… listen to me… hey, listen.” Arms curled around him, fingers brushing into his hair before skin touched his forehead, firm and warm, and real. “Friday is okay. You’re okay. Everything’s going to be okay. You’re safe and I’m not going to let anything happen to you again, do you understand? I’ll take you to Friday, but you need to breathe for me first.”

There was something soothing about the voice, though it felt like it was coming from down a long tunnel. His body shook and trembled, and the hand in his hair brushed over the side of his face, his cheek and his jaw. “I need you to take a deep breath for me, okay? In through your nose…” he demonstrated slowly, “and out through your mouth… Take it nice and slow for me.”

It took him a few minutes. There was a ringing in his ears that made it hard to focus, he didn’t know where it was coming from and the ocean that stared back at him when he opened his eyes again almost made him withdraw. He didn’t know when hands had taken his own, but when his eyes dropped away from the ocean of sympathy he found scarred thumbs brushing over his knuckles, holding his hands gently as the soft baritone continued to encourage him to take a few deep breaths in and out, and he eventually echoed the demonstration, his breathing shaky and his stomach seemed to tremble and jump as he attempted to follow along.

He just wanted to see Friday. Nothing else mattered. This wasn’t getting him any closer to Friday, and his deep breaths faltered as he gave a soft whimper at that. “Friday…” he gasped out, and the presence in front of him disappeared. The lights changed around him, dizzyingly, making little sense to him, but soon enough his vision was flooded with a familiar gold and his hands reached out to touch the soft scales, to feel that large chest rise and fall with breaths that left him simply sobbing.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered between sobs, his hands petting her though something kept him in the chair despite his desire to crawl up against her and cuddle close. “I’m sorry, Fri… I’m sorry, baby girl, I’m so sorry…”

His hands scrambled to claw at the empty space he saw before him, but rather than reaching her he met resistance and everything snapped back to reality again.

He felt a firm chest pressed to his cheek and his arms were around someone, he didn't care who. He curled them up along the person's back shoulder blades and they hooked in between at the base of Stephen's trapezius and clutched for dear-god-damn life as his fingers held desperately into the fabric of his tunic.

He wasn't thinking right, he was so disoriented, the visage of Friday faded away and he was back in the hospital room with Tilly and Stephen again. One of Stephen's arms were around his shoulders while the other cradled his head against his chest, fingers in his hair soothing softly.

"It's okay Tony, breathe, nice slow breaths in and out. Everything is fine, trust me." Stephen was so sure of himself as he coaxed Tony out of the episode he was having. When the brunette had finally calmed he gave the back of his head a gentle pat and pulled away.

"Let's get you back to Friday," Stephen soothed with a husky voice and Tony nodded, allowing his mentor to move away from him to push the wheelchair out of the room with one final passing glance at Tilly.

Tony was quiet the entire trip back, it wasn't long but he simply sat as Stephen wheeled him down the hallway with his face in his hands, the memory of what he saw branded into his mind. He knew he wouldn't feel satisfied until he saw Friday awake, and even still the image of their old leader might haunt him further as a fateful reminder.

“What happened?” a voice asked sharply over his head as Stephen settled him near the sleeping gold again.

“He had a panic attack,” Stephen explained calmly enough, clicking the breaks into place so that the brunette was within hand’s reach of Friday.

“What did you do?” the woman’s voice - Christine, he thought - inquired sharply. “Where did you take him?” There was a quiet shuffling behind him as they moved away and the voices became quieter, though not inaudible.

“I took him to see Tilly-”   
  
“You  _ what? _ Why on Earth did you think that was a good idea? Friday hasn’t even woken up yet!”   
  
“He needed to know! I was- I was trying to apologize!” Stephen insisted.   
  
“He needed to know,  _ yes, _ but he didn’t need to know right this moment! Did you think any of that through? Really think it through? He’s still recovering himself! You know he hit his head, you… god! You’re so insensitive, you know that?”

“I’m trying-”

“If you were  _ trying _ you would’ve thought this through better! For the love of… Stephen, please leave.” She sounded exhausted as she spoke, fed up perhaps.

“What…? Christine…”

“No, I want you to leave. I’m not going to have you upsetting my patients. When he’s well again and ready to see you, I might reconsider. But for now I want you out of my ward.”

“Levi--”

“Levi isn’t causing a problem,  _ you _ are. If you’re supposed to lead us, Stephen, for the love of all things good, you need to figure out people, because you’re really shit at this you know that? A Sanctum leader should at least know how to handle people, how to deal with them, how to talk to them. Maybe take this time to figure  _ that _ out. Now go, before I have to ask someone to remove you.”

There was silence after that before Stephen came into view, just long enough to brush his hands over Levi’s neck on his way out, offering Tony a regretful smile as he went. “Get well soon.” He offered quietly, before slipping out the door with the red dragon lifting his head to look after the rider.

The conversation was a blur to Tony. He didn't even say goodbye, just curled up in the wheelchair as the man left. He was too busy lost in his own mind about the idea of losing Friday despite her being well and in front of him. When the cold veil of fear finally relented, he managed to pull his shaking hands away from his face.

Friday's brilliant gold scales caught his eye and he reached out to place a hand down atop her head gently stroking her crown. He murmured almost hysterically, “everything is going to be fine baby, you’re good, you’re safe, I'll look after you,” quiet enough for simply himself. Brief flashes of Tilly in the hospital bed riddling and interrupting his affirmations.

He'd thankfully come down from his panic attack and as Christine saw that Stephen left the ward, she came back over to him and knelt down next to his chair. She ran a couple of tests to make sure Tony was fine, checking his pulse, strapping the sphygmomanometer to Tony's arm to making sure everything was in check.

Tony's heart rate was mildly elevated, but there were no serious concerns, just some increased stress and that wasn't conducive to a recovering patient who was both mentally and physically unwell at the moment.

“Do you want to stay in the chair, or shall we get you back into bed? We can bring the cot over so you can still be close to Friday if you want,” the doctor soothed as she brushed at his inner wrist with her thumb gently. “I’m so sorry about all of that. I thought he was going to take you outside for a little bit or something  _ sensible _ ...” she sighed, looking to Friday briefly herself.

“Friday should be waking up sometime later today, tomorrow at the latest. We’ll keep a close eye, but it’ll be important that you keep her settled so she doesn’t jostle her injuries too much. It’s hard to put a cast on a wing, naturally, so that’s something, in particular, she’ll need to keep steady while she heals.” Christine offered a warm smile. “But for now, can I get you something to eat?”

Tony continued to simply stare down blankly at Friday, his hand stroking her head. He offered Christine a slight nod. "Uh… thanks, here's fine. I'm not terribly hungry," he uttered softly. He didn't want to lay down, laying down in the middle of the day made him feel sick and like he was sleeping in, which usually was accompanied by the feeling of lethargy.

"I might just need some water, but that's about it." She nodded, looking a little disheartened as she reached for the pitcher on the bedside table and passed it to Tony.

"Call me if you need anything, or if Friday wakes up. We'll need to check on her just to make sure everything is fine." 

She lingered a moment. "Tony, she will be fine. She is not in any life-threatening condition, don't worry," she assured him softly, giving a gentle squeeze to his shoulder before she gently pet Levi on the head as she left the area.

* * *

As promised, Friday woke the next day and it took a little time for her to settle down enough to realize that Tony was fine. She was like an excitable puppy seeing him awake again, requiring a great deal of reassurance before she finally relaxed and accepted that Tony was okay.

They were both released from hospital almost a week and a half later, though trying to minimize Friday’s mobility was an issue. As soon as they were let out of the hospital she became rather more difficult to settle, especially given she couldn’t simply use a wheelchair or crutches the way Tony could. More often than not it led to Levi carrying her around from place to place, and the gold looking rather miffed and indignant about it all as she was encouraged to remain as still as possible despite her rampant energy.

He saw much less of Stephen even after he was released from the hospital, with another man - a brown rider who introduced himself as Kaecilius - taking over aiding him in some of his lessons, teaching him more particularly about the political workings of the Sanctum, it’s legal standings, and how much power and freedom they had when it came to working with others. It was all very sound, important information, but it was hard not to wonder where Stephen was in that time - and Stephen, on the occasions he did show up, didn’t seem interested in explaining his absences. Levi stayed with Friday constantly, so there was no indication that the man had left the Sanctum, and Tony got the distinct impression that the man was trying to avoid him.

Unfortunately for Friday, she was still in her splint and cast the day that the cast on Tony’s leg was finally removed. Steve’s wing made it out to see him as it came off, along with Loki, Thor, and Quill, who had brought a cake to celebrate. The dragons, unlike before, were calm as they settled themselves near Friday to offer their own support, though it may well have had something to do with Levi’s consistent presence. There was no doubting that he wasn’t going to let anything further happen to his injured queen.

“It’s good to see you on your feet again!” Loki greeted quietly, though he was quick to make way for a widely grinning Steve, as always.

“Congratulations! How are you holding up? How’s Friday feeling?”

"Great, I honestly felt like I could have gotten out of this thing sooner but you know, Christine really wanted to be sure I was ready, so she kept me in about three weeks longer. That didn't stop me from hobbling around on it like it was a peg leg. Needless to say, she wasn't too pleased." Tony lifted his glass up, his usual whiskey on the rocks with a boyish laugh. 

Steve was there at his side, arm around his shoulders, nestled into his side as he enjoyed the tavern cheer. Even Pepper put her shift on hold to have a toast with them, though for her it had to be a glass of water because of work policy rules and whatnot.

It was nice to see everyone again, to feel like he was missed. He kept the cast when it came off, stowed it in his ward as a memoir for a mistake he would never make again.

Things with Steve seemed to be great, but he couldn't help but shake that thought about the morning in the hospital ward when Stephen had brought him to Tilly. It was a worm in his brain, burrowed deep with the haunting memory of the hollow rider like a perfect balance. The memory cut deep like a cold knife, while the thought of Stephen there, his strong arms wrapped around him protecting him was a salve for the frost burn.

He couldn't say he entirely forgave Stephen for that, but he didn't exactly let on that it was some sort of open resentment either - even in any of the times he did see him. He'd come to understand that like his own mistakes, Stephen was paying the price with his own guilt of realization. He had his own penance to front.

Stephen had seemed so gentle, so loving that morning. It wasn't the first time he'd seen that from the rider. The normally prickly man had shown a side of him that Tony did not often get to see, and it was something that stirred confusing feelings deep inside him that would often make Tony question everything he knew about the man, and everything he knew about himself as well.

He looked up to Steve and the man flashed a bright smile down at him, broad smiles all around and the red rider leaned down to plant a soft peck on his cheek. Everything was amazing, perfect - more perfect than it ever was.

But then why was there this gnawing emptiness, small but pronounced enough that he couldn't quite get into the festivities without often zoning out from time-to-time and thinking on how Stephen wasn't around, and how he felt in general about the man?

“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Loki asked quietly while the majority of the group was focused on some story Thor seemed intent on telling. The raven-haired rider watched him carefully as he refilled Tony’s glass and set the bottle aside. “You look like you’re somewhere far away from here. I know Thor’s not the most entertaining, but you’ve had this look on your face most of the evening…”

"Oh, you know… just, so happy and all, and I might just be a little worried about Friday. Just worried parent stuff." Tony raised a glass to reassure Loki and take another sip, Steve squeezed his shoulders as he reinserted himself into the conversion, turning away from Sam and Clint for a moment.

"Everything alright Tony?" Steve had some moderate concern in his voice as he hovered and for some reason, Tony was starting to feel a little smothered.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm peachy. I just kind of zoned out for a moment." He plastered on that smile and Steve nodded but Loki saw right through it. He let Tony go and moved back to Thor, his brother getting a little rowdy with Quil.

Tony felt his pocket buzz and he shrugged Steve's arm off. "I'm going to run off to the washroom, I'll be back in a moment." Steve nodded and Tony did just as he said, slipping into one of the stalls and pulling out his phone.

L: Do you need to talk? You've seemed off lately - I can see through your BS Tony so don't even try

T: I have a lot on my mind.

L: Did you want to talk about it after?

T: Not really? But I have a feeling you won't let me off the hook either way.

L: You know me so well.

T: After Steve drops me off, swing by?

L: You got it.

Tony flushed the toilet for added effect, washing his hands before drying them off with a towel. He returned to his spot beside Steve and the man laid his arm around him.

The blond pressed a soft kiss to his temple and offered him his drink back. Loki offered a little salute with his glass, and Tony was swept up into the excitement of things as several gifts were offered to him (rather unexpectedly!), though eventually people slowly retired. Being the well-behaved and upstanding gentleman he was, Steve seemed more than willing to get Tony back to his place at a reasonable hour, offering to carry Friday and finding Levi rather adamant about caring for the gold on his own.

Steve didn’t seem insulted by that in the slightest as he gave Tony a hand up and brought him back to his quarters with Levi and Friday just behind them.

“I’m glad you’re getting back on your feet. I’m sure Friday will be doing well in no time,” Steve smiled as he helped Tony back down from Howler’s back. “The wing has decided we’re going to go fishing and find her some nice fish for when she gets all of her fixings off as well. If there’s anything in particular she likes, let me know and we’ll see what we can do. Howler loves to fish,” he added with a soft chuckle before raising Tony’s hand to kiss the back of it gently.

"Fri loves tuna, and if you can find any escolar I know she'd love that too. Salmon would be her second favourite but I know whatever you bring back for her she'll appreciate." Tony leaned up and pecked Steve on the cheek.

"Thanks for the evening, I had a wonderful time. I'll text you when I'm free, I probably have a lot of duties to catch up on now that I'm out of this cast and I don't think Kaecilius is going to go easy on me. He's pretty good at playing off how much of a hardass he really is," Tony laughed.

"I just hope he doesn't overwork you then, just because that cast is off doesn't mean you don't need to still take it easy.”

Levi touched down beside them and the red nodded at Tony as the drake carried Friday into the ward's open archway.

"I'll be waiting, you know me," he grinned and hopped back on Howler. The dragon stomped on the ground with a loud below before turning to take off.

“You two look cute together,” Loki chimed from within Tony’s apartment, sidestepping out of Levi’s way as the red gently set Friday down and nuzzled at her affectionately. Rather than settling himself around her, however, the red nudged at Tony slightly as he made his way out again, diving from the platform before heading off towards where Tony assumed was Stephen’s residence. 

He didn’t know, he’d never really been there.

“C’mon, I made some tea. Need a hand with any of that…?”

"Just a slight limp every now and then, it's nothing." He plopped down on the couch with a sigh, looking towards Loki as he leaned into the couch.

"Well, you're having water anyways because you, my good friend, need to hydrate after those five glasses of whiskey." Loki brought Tony a large glass of water over to the sofa and set it down on the coffee table. Likewise, he had a mug of tea in hand.

Tony groaned loudly looking at the water like it was somewhat of a repellant.

“I’m not having that. Drink up and let’s talk.”

"Things have felt weird since the incident. I don't think I ever told you what happened when we went to the hospital ward, where Stephen took me the next day," Tony draped his arms over the sofa and just decompressed.

“What happened? I thought you guys were just going for a walk or something, did something else happen? I stopped seeing him at the hospital and stuff, I figured he was just busy…” Loki sipped at his tea and watched Tony with entirely too knowing eyes.

"No, he took me to see Tilly, I didn't know she was still alive but..." Tony picked up the glass if only to have something to fidget with. Thinking about it always made him uncomfortable despite having thought he worked past it. Talking about it was even harder.

"Everyone thinks she's dead, everyone talks about her like she is - but she's not." There was a grave look on Tony's face as he regarded Loki, and the man looked shocked.

At first he assumed it was because Loki likewise didn’t know that Tilly was alive, though after a moment Loki rubbed at his face with his hand, muttering something under his breath. “Really? The idiot took you to see Tilly  _ then _ of all times? You know, for such a smart guy that man is an  _ idiot _ when it comes to people. That must’ve been rough, I’m sorry. It’s never easy to see any of the riders that still live without their dragons… there are like, nine or ten of them in the ward right now I think after the dragons got sick…”

"Yeah. I had a meltdown… and I… Don't know, it still kind of haunts me. The reason Stephen stopped seeing me afterwards was that Christine kicked him out of the ward after that," Tony fidgeted with the cup. "It made me think of all the horrible things that could potentially happen to Friday and I was terrified."

“As important as the lesson was, he handled it all wrong. Of course you had a meltdown. Friday was still unconscious and… geez.” Loki groaned a bit. 

“Look, the point here is that you’re okay. Friday’s okay. You’re both going to be fine and you learned from it, right? It’s not worth dwelling on right now and I know that’s hard to hear - I know it really well, since someone else refuses to listen to me about it - but it’s important to remember. You’re okay, she’s okay. And maybe if I’m warning you not to do something it might be worth listening,” he added with a wry smile. “I don’t offer those warnings for no reason.”

“Yeah, I got you. I can't say I was happy with what happened, it felt tactless. But when I had my meltdown I saw a side of Stephen I'd never seen before. He was… nice and it felt like just for the briefest moment there was something, I don't know how to explain it, but it's like we finally connected in some way." Tony ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I know it kind of seems dumb, but I kind of spaced out today… and I hate myself for thinking of the potentials the… what if's," Tony nodded his head as if he didn't need to say anything further with his implications.

Loki gave him an odd look at that, taking a long moment before folding his legs up on the couch. “Sorry, so you weren’t zoning out earlier worrying about Friday and thinking about Tilly… you were zoning out thinking about  _ Stephen? _ ” The green rider tilted his head for a moment. “I mean, he is pretty hot, but I think we’ve established he doesn’t exactly…  _ people _ well. We used to be friends, though… so I mean, if I can help you sort out whatever this is, I’m happy to give it a shot.”

"That's the thing, I don't really know. Part of me resents him for what he did, and another part of me has seen a side of him I don't think a lot of people know about. I've got this weird dichotomy of emotions at war in my head and on top of all of this, I really care about Steve, I like him, like a lot. But I get these thoughts from time to time… and I know Stephen's been avoiding me since the fiasco and in a way… I kinda miss him, but I'm angry at him too." Tony ran a hand through his hair with a sigh, he didn't know what to think.

"I'm a mess right now, just after I thought everything was on the incline and getting better."

“Plus side, you’re a hot mess.” Loki gave him a grin at that, before shrugging slightly. “So these what-ifs then… what do you wanna do about them? I mean, I still remember when we were first getting to know each other and you wanted nothing to do with him. But you and Steve have also been taking things like… glacially slowly. Do you  _ really _ like him? Or are you trying to substitute him for something else? Do you want me to set something up for you to talk with Stephen, or… I mean, how do you wanna deal with this? There are options. We can talk about it. I don’t have anywhere I need to be tonight.”

"I definitely don't want to talk about this to Stephen, and I..." he groaned, having a hard time articulating his thoughts. "I don't know… what do you mean there are options?" He tread cautiously with his inquiry, as good of a friend Loki was, the raven-haired rider was renown for using rather unconventional methods to 'help' out.

“I mean there are options. You have options. If you like Steve and what you guys have going, you two are cute together, if gross and sappy is what you’re going for. If you like Stephen though, then there are other things to consider, right? I mean, you and Stephen are from really different worlds and he kinda sucks at people and relationships, but he’s really not the worst. He cares… he used to anyway,” Loki sighed a little and slumped in his spot.

“Before stuff happened with Tao passing away and Daniel leaving, we used to be friends, you know? He didn’t have a lot of friends, but there were some people whose company he enjoyed. It wasn’t until after that when he started to shut people out and isolate himself. He was never good at the whole socializing thing, but he wasn’t like this, either. If you don’t wanna talk to him, especially about this… I can try and see if he’ll talk to me? I don’t know if he’ll open up to me anymore but… I guess it depends on you and what you  _ want _ and what you’re  _ looking for _ in a relationship. It’s not like you don’t have time to sort all of that out.”

"I'm happy with Steve though, he's sweet, considerate and if I had to choose between Steve, and Stephen I have to say I'd go with option one. I just wanted to get it out because you noticed, and you asked. It's not something I planned to really act on since the feeling is just… a flicker I guess?" Tony was starting to struggle and fumble over his words.

"Tilly isn't dead though, just because Tao is doesn't mean she's a lost cause… she's just not there and part of me wonders if there's an out somewhere, some sort of cure for her that we all just don't know about."

“Now you  _ sound _ like Stephen,” Loki chuckled a little, shaking his head. “What do you figure Stephen does in his free time? He’s not giving up on her because he wants to find a way to fix her. To bring her back. But she’s still not going to be the same as she was, Tony. No matter how things go, no one can bring Tao back to life, Tilly’s always going to be missing that part of herself.”

"That won't stop me from trying, and as a Sanctum Leader it's my job to solve problems, not make them, and that seems to be all I've been doing since I got here." Tony laughed, basking in his own self-deprecation. "Hopefully, whatever this spell or flicker is, it passes." 

Tony finally stopped glaring at the glass of water and started to sip at it. Friday crawling her way over and chirring softly as she poked Tony with her nose, the distress causing her to finally check on him.

"I'm good, Fri. Don't worry about me."

“You’re not a Sanctum leader yet, Tony. You have time. And no one’s expecting you to be perfect right away. Even Stephen’s not perfect and he’s been training for this a hell of a lot longer than you. You’ve still got time to learn, and Stephen could use all the help in the world in dealing with people, clearly.” Loki smiled a bit, getting up and kissing his forehead. 

“Just… try and relax some, alright? Things will work out how they’re supposed to work out. If not, we’ll meddle and it’ll be fun. But you’ve been drinking, so I want you to finish off that water and get some rest, you hear me? You keep an eye on him, Friday. Make sure he sleeps. Grab him by the pants and haul him into bed if you have to.”

Tony's expression was of mild surprise before he grinned and waved Loki off. "Yeah, thanks for talking to me about this, I really am just a big hot mess at the moment." He waved to Loki as the man retreated, closing the door behind him on the way out.

Tony slowly stood up, reaching for the lamp and shedding his clothes to curl up under the covers, and Friday crawled over and occupied the other half of the bed with her head resting on the pillow beside him as her body stayed on the floor.

* * *

A couple more months lapsed and Tony failed to act on those ideas. It was nice to get them off of his chest, and they would crop up every so often during his study periods when Stephen wasn't there and either Mordo or Kaecilius had stood in for him.

At least today they had a small little event planned for Friday, today was the day she was going to have her cast removed and the gold had been even more uppity and excited than ever. She'd been anxious to fly when the pain had stopped, and like Tony they had opted to keep her cast on longer just to make sure when it came off, she would be ready to fly.

Levi had continued to be a constant in Tony's life, and it was such a normal thing for the red to fly them around that one would have thought Levi was his dragon. He always did want to fly a red, but he had something much better than that.

"Hey Levi, after Friday's party, you think you could reach out to Stephen and invite him for a swim? Friday needs some water therapy to help strengthen the muscles that atrophied in her wings, we could use some help." The red dragon nodded his head with a happy bellow, skipping around and bumping Friday's nose as she settled in front of the medical ward. Loki, Thor, Quill, and Steve had all come for the small little party each bringing a specialty fish for her.

It was easy enough to keep her distracted with the fish as the cast was removed and then the splint on her wing, and to her credit Friday only twitched a couple of times during the process, happily burying her nose in the baskets of fish, and at one point pausing to hold up a fish by the tail to offer to Levi. He seemed rather confused by the whole offer, simply nuzzling against her and rejecting the offered fish. Taking the rejection in stride, Friday finished off the fish on her own, and the moment her wing was free of the splint, spread it out and crowed happily to the skies.

Getting up to trot around a little, she hobbled on her weakened leg only slightly as she fluttered her wings in excitement and with a clear desire to fly, though she showed manners enough to nudge at each of the riders who had brought her gifts of fish first. Turning on Tony, she gave a wiggle of her butt and lowered her torso to the floor excitedly.

_ <Can we fly now, Tony, please? I want to fly to the water! Can I fly? Levi says he’ll fly underneath me so that he can catch me if I get tired…!> _

"Hah! Looks like Friday is anxious to fly again." Tony thanked Christine and walked over to Friday giving her a few gentle caresses on her neck. "Thank you, everyone, for coming, Friday thanks to you all for the wonderful gifts.”

"Tony, aren't you forgetting something?" Steve quirked an eyebrow with a wry smile. The brunette looked a bit dumb as he ran over and pecked Steve on the cheek before running back to his dragon. Loki simply shook his head and gave Tony a look which the others thankfully missed.

"We're going to test out the wings, we'll have Levi to safeguard us in case she gets tired." He smiled and Steve nodded. 

"Alright, just be safe, we can't have another accident or I don't know what I'll do with you." He laughed and Tony was already climbing up on Friday's shoulders.

"Will do, we'll be careful this time, I promise," he smiled and before he could relish the moment Friday stuck her tongue out like an excited pup, running towards the edge of the plateau and leaping into the air. Levi let out a distressed noise as she took off without warning and dove down underneath her to follow.

Flying on Friday’s back again felt refreshing. A new saddle had been made for her after the other had been damaged in their crash and was specifically adjusted so that the band didn’t sit over the same place on Tony’s leg that it had before, which helped reduce the little bit of aching that he had at times. Levi flew close enough that Friday could reach out and touch him where she flew, and his wings were easily apparent to Tony as they flapped before Friday gave a soft noise and finally simply settled on the other dragon’s back, allowing him to guide her the rest of the way to the pool.

It was a beautiful day and several other dragons were splashing about in the water happily as they approached. Levi moved out from beneath her as they drew nearer to the ground and he touched down just ahead of her, scooting out of the way as she stumbled just slightly, favouring the legs she hadn’t injured just in case. She settled herself down to let Tony down before waiting for the other to unfasten her saddle so that she could dive into the water, even as Levi paced a little bit.

< _ Levi says he asked Stephen to come swim, _ > Friday conveyed as Tony’s fingers worked at the straps of her saddle. < _ But Stephen isn’t feeling well. He says to have a good swim… Do you think Stephen is still mad at us? _ > she added with a low grumble, seeming rather unhappy with the idea. < _ I miss when we all used to swim together. _ >

_ <I know Fri, I do too. But I can come in and swim with you since Oscar the grouch isn't coming. I think I could use the workout just as much as you. He'll come around eventually... _ > He ran a hand over her scales and then gave Levi a similar stroke on his neck. He ditched his shirt and tunic, pants discarded as well so he was just in his boxers and he dashed off towards the shoreline.

"Race you!" Tony laughed, and Friday bellowed loudly looking at Levi before she bounded off after him, Levi was right on her tail. He could easily overtake her but let her hold the lead as they walked to the shoreline of the pool and charged into the gradual beach-like incline sending a wave over to Tony.

"Hey!" He splashed her right back, running in further before he tried to push her over (with all the good it would do) and she lightly swept her tail into his chest knocking him into the water entirely.

Levi yipped and tackled Friday, lightly butting his head into her shoulder, making her bellow out the equivalent of a laugh before she went right back at him, sweeping water at him and jumping on his back to lightly bite at his neck in a pseudo wrestling match.

Making sure he was out of the way of the wrestling dragons, Tony couldn’t help his smile as he watched the pair. 

They really were good together and as gentle as Levi was with her, Tony couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if Howler did catch her instead. The idea broke his heart. Levi and Friday clearly loved one another tremendously and maybe he’d never loved someone quite as much as they loved each other, but he could imagine how much of a loss he’d feel if something came between them that way.

As he swam, he wondered what it would be like if he was _ that _ in love with someone. He definitely liked Steve, they wouldn’t have been together so long if he didn’t, but even after two years there was something about the idea of saying he loved Steve that sat wrong with him. He was satisfied with their relationship. Steve treated him kindly and well, and he enjoyed their time together usually… but if Levi and Friday’s relationship set the bar for love, his feelings for Steve fell far below par.

“... I’m sorry I’m late.” The voice brought him to attention, tearing his eyes away from the wrestling dragons to see Stephen sitting on the shoreline, his eyes avoiding Tony’s as he watched the dragons play. “She seems happier now. I’m glad.”

"Fashionably late I see, I didn't know if you actually still existed or not." Tony cracked the quip yelling to Stephen from the water. He waded out of the pool up to his waist feeling his chest flutter with excitement when he saw Stephen. He didn't know why, maybe the idea that a long lost friend was finally found or the idea that he had more company to join in on the excitement, or even possibly more?

If Tony was holding any resentment towards Stephen it never showed, especially the way he lit up. Resentment was the last thing on his mind as he crossed his arms with a cocky smirked and watched the man set his things on the artificial shoreline of the pool and start to remove his outerwear.

"The least you could do is put on a show, Stephen," he yelled over the commotion of growling and grunting as Friday went down next to him sending him under with a tsunami. At the mention of Stephen's name Friday's head snapped around until she locked on to the other man and now the two drakes dashed through the water towards him and all Tony could do was smile widely.

Stephen was about to be tackled by two very sopping wet drakes.

“Don’t you dare-” the red rider warned, and Levi eased up, flaring his wings and splashing the man with the momentum of the water he’d moved. Friday wasn’t quite so graceful, skidding to a stop just at the edge of the water and extending her nose out to lick up the side of his face without a moment’s hesitation.

< _ He came! Tony! Look! Stephen came to swim! _ > she squealed in delight, looking between an amused Tony and a non-too-delighted and thoroughly soaked Stephen. Given the wave of water, the clothes he’d rid himself of and those still on him were completely drenched, leaving Stephen to sigh heavily as he finished undressing himself and found a spot in the sun to lay them to dry.

“You two are incorrigible, I swear.” A hand came up to pet Friday’s muzzle as the gold crooned happily at him. “All three of you, really. It’s nice to see you, too, Friday.”

Levi crowed his victory before splashing his way back into the water to swim some, with Friday turning to follow quickly on his tail once she was satisfied that she’d greeted Stephen well enough.

“Good to see you too, Tony,” he added quietly enough as he finally got into the water, but unsurprisingly the man didn’t look at him as he spoke. Tony sighed to himself and resolved to at least appreciate that the man had made an appearance.

“Friday’s real excited to see you. She was pretty sad when she heard you might not make it.”

“I definitely got that impression,” Stephen gestured to his rather wet frame and shook his head a little before diving in further.

So it was awkward and maybe not as enthusiastic as he might have hoped, but he’d take what he could get. It was nice to hang out again… anything else would take time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	7. Chapter 7

It almost felt like a blink of an eye how fast time passed. Instances of Tony's life just seemed to flash by as if he was a pedestrian on a park walkway, watching time fly by as a simple observer while his life played itself out in front of him.

Five years had come and gone since Friday had hatched and so had many hardships and tribulations. 

Despite the passage of time, Tony's relationship with Stephen remained rocky at best. The two went back and forth but as of late, they stood on cordial grounds. As for Steve, even with his feelings he never ended up pursuing them, and in the end, only a few months after the talk he had with Loki, he and Steve went their separate ways.

Seeing the red and gold drakes and how deeply enamoured they were with each other really helped put things in perspective. While he was with Steve he never really had the same spark, the same passion that the two drakes showed for one another. Instead of focusing on something that was probably the least of his concerns, Tony took up his position much more seriously and buried himself in his studies.

His experiences had shaped him, seasoned him. It felt like only yesterday that he was arriving at the Sanctum and imprinting on his magnificent queen who was as of now, fully grown. 

She was the longest and tallest dragon in the Sanctum, now towering over him by several feet, and Levi was undoubtedly a constant in her life. The two had basically sworn themselves to each other, so much so it was as if nothing could pull the two apart, and there was a constant disconnect and struggle as their riders remained distant with one another and unengaging. 

He remembered when Levi and Friday used to fly together, Levi always slowed down so he wouldn't outpace her. Soon enough Friday had been able to actually catch him and the roles became reversed as the two went out on flights and raced with one another.

Tony was preparing for the event of the decade, now that Friday had matured into full adolescence she was ready to rise. Tony would have dreaded this day in the past but since taking his duties much more seriously he was willing and open to the possibility that anything at this point could happen to them.

Today was the day and Tony looked between the matriarch and her mate, a hand on both of them.

"It's clear you two have long made up your minds, you have both been through so much. Levi, you better catch her. You've been there the entire time and I'll be pretty disappointed if you two aren't the dominating force in this race," he addressed the red drake, giving the beast a full-on hug. He crooned softly and nudged his muzzle against Tony's cheek. 

<_ And Friday, I just want you to be happy. Make this work for both of you. Whatever the outcome I'll be happy for you. _>

<_ Even if it means that you may end up with Stephen for the event? _> she tilted her head, inquiringly gently.

<_ Yes, even if that's how things end up going, it couldn't be the worst thing in the world, _> he wrapped his arms around Friday's neck and her wings curled around them.

Friday stared back at him and he mirrored the same loving gaze, feeling her emotions swell inside him with such force he felt like he couldn't contain the amount of emotion she bore for him.

<_ I'll be proud of you no matter what. _>

Around them, the Sanctum was abuzz with activity.

A large banquet had been set up in one of the upper halls and the majority of the dragon riders were making their way there, beginning to crowd the hall as food was laid out on the tables. The large platform outside held most of the Sanctum’s dragons with the exception of those too old to make the flight. There was no mistaking that everyone knew what was coming.

Even as Tony remained with the two dragons, people around him were holding hands and kissing, giggling with each other as though it was Valentine’s Day instead of the day that his baby girl inevitably got herself pregnant. Which, to his knowledge, was the end result of the whole process. It wasn’t just about her mating or some kind of marriage. Friday was going to have little babies of her own.

It would come full circle, new people would come to the Sanctum to try and imprint on Friday’s young offspring, today was the day Tony became a Sanctum leader - today was a really big day altogether.

Howler landed with Steve, and the blond helped his mount remove his harness to be set aside with a number of others. The dragons passed them along to settle them out of the way, each one helping the others. Steve offered Tony a smile and a pleasant wave as he joined his wing in making their way indoors. Stephen was, predictably, already there when he arrived, helping to organize the floor and make certain that everyone had space to eat and rooms to excuse themselves to as things went along.

It was beginning to feel very real.

Tony attempted to focus on this being about Friday and Levi, but so many other things were going on in his mind.

As Hela landed and had her saddle removed, Loki came to curl an arm in his. “Come on, you can’t avoid the crowd forever. Besides, they need the space out here for the last people to arrive and if you literally show up last everyone will be staring at you,” the raven-haired rider chuckled a bit, patting Friday as he did.

“Fly fast. You give those dicks a run for their money, you hear? And if you let Mjolnir catch you, Friday, you’ll break my heart! My whole heart! You wouldn’t want that, would you?” he teased, laughing as the gold butted at him to nudge him away, dragging Tony along with him.

“Good luck, Levi!” Loki called back as he gave Tony a grin.

Friday stood there, offering a loud, excited chirrup after Tony as he was dragged away by the raven-haired rider. He was corralled by Loki who was soon joined by Steve and the rest of his close wingmates to the banquet hall where Thor, without question, was already there celebrating with a bottle of wine in one hand and the flank of a turkey leg in the other. They sat him down at the head of the table between them, with a struggle for who would get to be beside him. Steve wound up to the left of him, Loki and Thor to the right.

Tony had prepared for this day, it was all he had practiced for since he arrived, but that wouldn't stop the nervous churning in his stomach as he looked upon the faces of his best friends in the room. It was hard to imagine he'd be taking, realistically speaking, one of the red riders to bed with him, or quite possibly a brown. Though he tried to avoid thinking about that part of the ceremony, the idea was inevitable. Even more inevitable was he had a sinking feeling it was going to be Stephen and while he may have had a dwindling crush on the man, it was hard to imagine that amidst their mentor-mentee relationship they'd end up in bed together, waking up and not remembering a thing about it like a crazy night out at the bar.

Unlike his first notions of Stephen when he'd arrived, Tony realized by this point that Stephen probably wasn't the worst person he could end up with - quite possibly his first choice if the choice had been his. He felt silly for thinking about it like that.

Friday's excitement kept him sane, and he could feel the love she had for her to-be mate burning deep in his chest. As the final few people filtered into the room, he cast a passing glance at Stephen, who likewise caught his eyes briefly as he took his seat at the far end of the table.

All the riders had taken their seats and the doors to the hall were closed off. Dragons gathered and readied themselves in a herd of multi-chromatic scales with the golden empress at its very center ready to rise. The passion they gave off was so intense it was palpable and he may have felt Loki's hand on his right thigh, or Steve bumping his shoulder intentionally against his as they sat down.

“To Friday, may she fly fast and strong!” Thor announced loudly to the table to a round of cheers, raising his glass. All around him glasses raised and eventually his own followed suit. “And to Tony,” Thor’s grin turned on him, joyous but not lewd, “may he lead us all well no matter what may come.”

Another round of cheers echoed through the room and once again Stephen’s eyes caught his and the rider was rather specific in raising his glass to Tony. Tony only hesitated briefly before tilting his own glass in the other’s direction. He didn’t miss the little smirk on Loki’s face before it disappeared behind his own glass of alcohol.

“And to the rest of you a good night and a merry romp!” Thor added to a final cheer before finishing off his glass and refilling it.

Tony sat back down and for a moment he thought he felt Loki's hand on his ass. He flashed the raven-haired rider a look and the man immediately retreated as they all took their seats in unison, beginning the festivities.

"So, you excited to screw Stephen's brains out? I happen to know he likes it rough." Loki blatantly came out with it, cutting up the meal on his plate as if he hadn't just spewed vulgarity at the dinner table.

Tony was mid-sip and he choked on his whiskey, turning on Loki with a scowl.

"What?" Loki shrugged.

"I'm not even going to dignify that with a response," Tony reached for a plate on the table and began to spoon himself some mashed potatoes.

The group began to feast immediately and after most had eaten their share one of the riders heralded that the dragons were growing restless and soon enough there was a series of bellows from the dragons who were once still. They began to animate and perk their heads in anticipation as Friday rose from a seated position and flared her wings.

She looked beyond the crowd of dragons, each and every one of their colours reflecting in her scales. She eyed Levi, and the red drake peered right back at her with a burning determination as she reared back and let out a thundering roar that reverberated through the Sanctum walls.

The challenge was issued and immediately the call was returned from those that would heed it. The cavernous walls echoed a unified cacophony of draconian bellows and only moments after that did Friday flap her wings a few times before pushing off of the ground and taking to the skies of the Sanctum.

His response was reflexive. He didn’t know when he’d gotten to his feet, but he was at the window swiftly enough to watch the dragons beginning to take off after her. Steve stepped up to his right soon enough, he noticed vaguely out of his periphery, and the man reached out to give his hand an encouraging squeeze before letting go again - it was a moment of contact, a reminder that the man supported him regardless of their history. To his left Stephen arrived, close without being intrusive, and it seemed to parallel the rising of both Howler and Levi into the skies.

The floodgates burst after that as a wave of colours rose into the air, the light of the setting sun sparkling and glittering off of their scales as they disappeared into the distance. 

As his eyes fell closed things changed. He felt disconnected from his body, the wind over their scales, the heady rush of arousal and the thrill of knowing they were being pursued. They could sense Levi to one side, hear him snapping at the other red that was in close pursuit, but neither red was fast enough to catch them. They were the wind.

They were free.

They rose high above the faint hints of clouds and five reds and a brown were the only pursuers they sensed. They could feel them, their desire, their need, their determination. The moment they dove again, though, they knew only two of the dragons were smart enough to follow. Levi. Howler. Both were on their tail without issue.

The miles passed below them in a rush and everything was a blur, but there was never a moment they didn’t sense their pursuers as they dove and spun through the sky. There was a touch to their tail and a thrill rushed through their body as they twisted away and danced through the sky. Others fell away further still, the space falling between them steadily further as Howler and Levi nipped at each other.

They were close. They didn’t like how close the reds were… not both of them. They wanted their mate.

They dove once more and Howler was lost in the confusion, but Levi was there, immediately. His wings locked in theirs and forced their wings open into a long glide. Levi gave a triumphant trumpet as his maw settled over their neck briefly as though to establish his dominance, but all they felt was the overwhelming love from the other as his arms wrapped around them.

A soft rumble reverberated through their neck like rolling thunder as gold and red scales kissed and two opposing elements collided. Legs entangled, scales brushed up against one another which unlike their hardened properties felt like silk coursing along the surface of one’s skin. Tails knotted together as they tied themselves entirely in an embrace, creating a union of forms that were inevitably inseparable.

Minutes passed like hours as their bodies melted together in the sky. The cold rush of the ripping wind along their backs, a stark contrast with the molten heat that erupted in a welcome warmth between their chilled bodies. 

A moment of stillness and silence as all that could be heard was one heartbeat, one breath, one mind and body as both chests heaved in and out for mere seconds. 

And then there it was. It was as if the clouds parted and their corpora were struck by a surge of electricity that stimulated them to their very being. Muscles tightened, heart rates elevated and both dragons let out a cry to the heavens that echoed through the reaching perimeters of the Sanctum and further out across the valley.

It was lightning through their veins as if the clouds had split and the thrill echoed and charged the fibres of their essence with fire. Both bodies inflamed with a feeling unrivalled by any they’d ever experienced before as euphoria rippled through their vessels like molten gold and submerged them deep in an abyss of absolute bliss.

The integrity of two aspects bonding, so desperate to unify and become one together as gold wrapped in red plummeted from the sky, the sun catching their scales in an almost blinding display of lights - a burning comet plummeting from the heavens.

They could feel everything with their connected bodies; the tightening and relaxing of scales, the soft shudder of muscles as Levi bestowed upon them the greatest manifestation of his love that was possible. His low rumbles like a heartbeat that soothed and calmed the passionate flame ignited deep within their bonded souls.

The world around them was lost as all that mattered was then and there. That moment was a gift neither had ever received as the ground grew closer and the red's wings finally flared to slow their descent.

The world around them slowly began to return as Levi landed, straddling his mate and resting himself upon their golden scales, entangled together tightly as his wings wrapped around the both of them to shield them from the outside world. Friday's head reclined as Levi crooned softly and so lovingly at them, preening the scales on the underside of their neck and purring against their cheek.

They were his, and he was theirs and there was nothing that could ever possibly change or come between that now. Not a word would be exchanged to interfere with the essence of the moment.

* * *

As Stephen woke, there was such a feeling of pride filling him he knew what he would see the moment he turned his head, and for a moment he was afraid to do just that. His eyes stayed closed for a time before he finally gave a soft sigh and turned his head to look at the brunette fast asleep beside him. He didn't know whether he ought to simply leave and let Tony wake up without having to see his face, or if Tony would appreciate having the company after such a potentially disorienting experience, but he was selfish enough that he didn't want to move and end this perfection.

Tony looked peaceful and while Stephen winced at the blooming marks on the other man's neck, he couldn't help but admire Tony as he shifted onto his side and reached to carefully brush the man's hair out of his face. 

He was beautiful, there was no denying that - nor had he ever thought to. He'd learned and grown so much over the years and Stephen failed constantly to express how proud he was of Tony for fear it would leave the man to slack.

His chest was swollen with pleasure as he watched Tony sleep, though he withdrew his hand soon enough. There was no need to make the other man more uncomfortable than necessary when he woke. Tony was certainly not a fan of him in any way. He loved Levi, it was clear, and he approved of Levi and Friday - and who in the Sanctum didn't? The dragons were a perfect match - but Stephen was another matter entirely and he knew it. 

Tony tolerated him because he had to. Put up with him for Friday's sake. Tony was a people person, he knew how to make nice, but Stephen wasn't a fool.

Tony hated him.

It was fair, Stephen supposed. Tony had no good reason to like him. He was definitely nothing like Steve - he wasn't earnest and boyish, he didn't laugh easily and freely. Stephen had the weight of the world on his shoulders and it weighed him down. He wasn't a people person or a golden child, and he'd proven time and again even to Tony that his ability to be considerate was appalling.

He closed his eyes against the steady influx of self-doubt and shame, and as Tony began to stir he slipped himself to the edge of the bed. The least he could do was take care of him now.

Tony shifted in the bed. He seemed to take his time coming to almost as if disoriented by the entire escapade. He'd been exposed chest up from under the covers so just his shoulders were kissed by the air outside the warmth of the blanket.

There was a soft groan and not moments later was he turning around, an arm in the spot Stephen had previously occupied as his eyes slowly fluttered open. He pushed himself up on the bed, looking around and blinking as if he was confused to see that the spot beside him was vacant and unoccupied. His eyes scanned the room, deep red robes to the right of the bed, and his own gold and white ones to the left.

"... Stephen...?" The voice seemed to probe the silence uncertainly as if he knew the product of the outcome.

"I'm going to get us both some water... do you hurt anywhere? Should I get anything else?" Stephen's feet hooked over the edge of the bed as he reached for his robe, pulling it over his shoulders before standing and fastening it up. It wasn't as though he had any issues with his own nudity, but the least he could do was make sure he avoided making this any more awkward for Tony than it already was. "I'm sorry for the marks. I can gather something to deal with those as well if you'd like."

He couldn't bring himself to look at Tony knowing he was awake. He felt an odd sense of shame about the whole situation, particularly knowing that as people went he was undoubtedly far from Tony's first choice. "They'll be serving breakfast in the banquet hall if you're hungry... I can grab you something if you'd prefer to eat here, otherwise, there's a small bathroom through that door there that you can use to clean up..."

Even saying it he felt like an asshole. Aftercare mattered, he knew that intimately. Stephen was particularly partial to rough and emotional sexual escapades, but without Mordo or Kaecilius holding him after and reassuring him that everything was okay, and helping him clean up and get back on his feet, he didn't know that he'd be able to do much more of that. He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to decide the best course of action. "I can help if you require.”

Tony let out a soft sigh and waited a moment before responding again, palm to his head as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"I can tell you where I _ don't _ hurt. And spoiler alert, one of those spots isn't my ass." There was partial amusement in his tone as if he was trying to make nice in the presence of the man he woke up next to, but there was still some semblance of lingering sadness, a hollow-sounding emptiness. Stephen wasn’t the one he wanted to wake up next to, but the red rider could at least appreciate his attempts to make light of the situation they were in. 

"I should be fine, a shower sounds good. Lord knows I stink of sex and alcohol after that one." His feet slipped over the side of his bed and he didn't hesitate to step over to his robes, looking at the red welts and claw marks blemishing his body. 

"Jeez you're a real animal, Stephen," he snorted softly.

He knelt down, picked up his robe and for a moment he was completely exposed before the garment was thrown over his shoulders and the sash was tied loosely around his waist.

“I’m sorry,” Stephen stated softly, finally turning to look at the other man, “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he started to take a step towards Tony before rethinking his actions. On the one hand Tony seemed to be at least accepting of what had happened. On the other, he didn’t want to risk turning that sour.

“I’ll get some water and painkillers, and once you’ve showered I can give you a hand with some of those marks…?” At least if he offered Tony had the opportunity to accept or refuse his aid depending on his comfort.

Stephen had been through a mating flight before, once. He’d barely known the man and it had been easy for them to both just shake hands and go their own ways. 

This, however, was in every way different. He wanted to do right by Tony here, to perhaps - for once - not let him down. He didn’t want Tony to look back on this and be miserable… but he didn’t know how to make that happen.

"Relax Stephen, I was just joking with you. Well, half-joking, I really am a little butthurt right now though." He pulled the collar of his robe up and fastened a crooked smile to his features as he met Stephen's very confused and almost desperate look.

"This is how things are, the way things work. You don't need to offer any apologies for something you did when you weren't even in your right state of mind. This was all inevitable and you know it." His voice almost seemed business-like to Stephen but his words could have meant anything.

Tony walked over to him, clapping a hand down on his shoulder briefly as he passed by and then moved onto the shower to freshen up.

"I'm going to take a shower, can't miss our opportunity to congratulate the happy couple."

There was something about the words ‘happy couple’ that left his chest aching as he watched after the other man, running his hand through his hair as he sunk himself back onto the edge of the bed. 

“Okay,” he murmured softly, taking a few moments to get himself together again before going to fetch the water, painkillers and some concealer for the marks.

Setting things down on the side table proved a slight challenge with his hands trembling and attempting not to spill the water everywhere as he did. For his own part, however, he finished his water quickly and simply waited for Tony. The least he could do was wait for him, and not simply leave him to handle things on his own.

He wasn’t hungry, though. He didn’t want to partake in breakfast so much as he wanted to find a deep pit to crawl into. But he was a Sanctum leader now. It wasn’t about what _ he _ wanted - it hadn’t been for years.

Tony's shower was brief, he took the time that he needed and then possibly a little more. The faucet stopping only signifying him getting out, and then emerging from the shower room with just his pants on. He'd come out, robe and shirt under his arms and seemed to stop momentarily as if he was surprised that Stephen was still hanging around.

"Shower's free if you wanted to go in next..." which was a pretty obvious statement and Tony went to sit down on the edge of the bed to start putting his socks on.

Stephen hesitated briefly before standing again and gathering the water and a couple of painkillers to offer to Tony. “For the aches. At some point the crowd out there is going to want you to make a short tour with Friday and riding isn’t going to be very comfortable regardless but… this will at least help minimize that. I brought some concealer, and if you want I can help you apply it and clean up but…”

The rider took a deep breath as he stared at his hands. “I don’t want to touch you if you’re opposed to that. I’m sure this isn’t the ideal situation for you to be in and there’s not a lot to be done about it, but… the least I can do is learn and respect your boundaries. If you’ll let me.”

Tony took the glass of water and the pain-killers from Stephen, he popped them into his mouth and chased it with a swig of water. "Thanks, I mean, I don't plan on stripping down and giving them a show, they're mostly covered but if you want to get the ones on my neck that could probably help." Tony held the glass of water and ran his fingers over the marks, he shuffled closer and canted his head so Stephen could access the cluster of red marks on the back and sides of his neck.

Stephen gave a small nod at that, gathering the concealer and managing to apply some to his shaking fingers, before setting the bottle aside on the bed and leaning in to carefully apply the cream in spots on the other’s neck. He swapped fingers to gently dab it in, familiar enough with the application of concealer for his own sex-related injuries to know not to over blend it.

“Other side?” He offered, pulling back a little. “I’m sorry I made such a mess of you, this… isn’t like me. Levi seems pretty pleased with himself overall though so… I imagine that has something to do with it.”

Tony let out a snort of amusement and he tilted his head to give Stephen access to the other side of his neck. Hands resting on his lap idly as the man applied some more of the concealer to his fingertips.

"Really Stephen, don't worry about it, you didn't do this - Levi did." The brunette reassured the other as if sensing the growing uneasiness in his tone.

“I still did this, Tony.” Stephen asserted clearly enough, applying the concealer once again with pointed concentration - his hands trembled too much for him to be precise about it unless he was really focusing on it. “Not being in control of myself doesn’t change that I did this. Levi and Friday were miles away. Levi didn’t leave marks on you. He left his own marks with Friday.”

Once he was finished applying the concealer, Stephen put the cap back on it and set it aside, retreating back to what he considered a respectable distance. “I suppose I should clean up. Enjoy breakfast. I expect a lot of people are going to be waiting to congratulate you, so… well… anyway. If you need me for anything… I suppose our quarters will be connected now. So just… let me know.”

Tony brushed his fingers lightly over the spots staying quiet as Stephen continued to fumble over his words. He touched lightly where Stephen had put the concealer on to make sure it was dry before he tugged his robes back up over. He tied off the sash and stood, straightening the front out before turning to stand in front of Stephen as if being stopped by another thought.

"Thanks, and what about you Stephen? Are you not one of the Sanctum leaders too, shouldn't you be out there with me?" He tilted his head, giving Stephen an odd look. "I figured you would be out there as well since you're very much a part of this too."

“I…” Stephen trailed off as he wrapped an arm around himself, feeling distinctly uncertain at that. “I’ve been doing this for almost six years now. They’re not celebrating me. They’re celebrating you. They’re celebrating Friday and Levi. But if you want me there I’ll… make my shower quick. I suppose it wouldn’t do to leave you to face that alone.”

Making his way to the bathroom, Stephen paused at the door briefly to look back at Tony. “I suppose it’s also fitting to be clear, you’re an official Sanctum leader now, Tony. I’m not your teacher anymore. But that won’t stop me from helping you if you require it.”

* * *

Tony's heart had been pounding, the entire thing had been a mixed bag. There were feelings he couldn't shake, something completely ingrained and part of him that inevitably drew him to Stephen and he didn't know why.

Potentially a byproduct of the effects of the bond, having been so emotionally entwined that he felt the effects lingering as if the feelings were his own.

He still felt the love for Stephen, he still felt passionate like the man was very much a part of his life, in no way denying it. But he knew bringing that to Stephen's attention would simply result in his ex-mentor telling him it's just the lingering after-effects of the mating flight.

There was a deep-seated swelling in his chest, a tightening of his throat as he tried to hold himself together and put on the best people-face he could. He sat himself down on the bed and waited for Stephen, at least knowing he'd be able to draw out what little simulation of a relationship they could possibly ever experience before the emotions faded and their lives eventually fell back into place and each went their respective ways.

For one of the happiest days in the Sanctum, he felt pretty crummy.

Stephen didn’t take long in the shower, as promised, though he took a couple of moments in the bathroom after the water went off, returning with his hair properly in place aside from a couple of stray hairs brushing at his forehead and his robe immaculate. The man offered him a tentative smile as he tucked his hands behind his back, before hesitating and offering Tony an arm.

“... shall we have breakfast? And if anything’s getting to be too much, just let me know and I’ll find some way to excuse us both.”

"I think that sounds like a swell idea. I'm absolutely famished," he mirrored the smile with his own meek grin. He looked down at Stephen's arm and then back at him, a moment's hesitation before he took Stephen's offered arm and nodded.

Every micro detail of contact between them hadn't been overlooked by Tony for a second. The brushing of fabrics riding up their arms as their limbs kissed and pressed against one another, the bend in his arm to the warmth that radiated through one another's sleeve even up to the small comforting smile.

This wouldn't happen again and he was sure of it. Stephen was simply extending an olive branch and Tony wasn't about to turn his nose up at it.

He gave Stephen's arm a light tug and led them both out into the banquet hall where, still in the moment, Tony reached to pull out Stephen's seat for him like a gentleman.

The man hesitated, almost surprised, but took a seat and Tony pushed him in, he then took his place beside Stephen.

The celebrations were loud and boisterous, with people constantly coming up behind him to pat his shoulders and back, and offer him congratulations. Steve, Bucky and Sam all came to greet him and check in on him, with Steve even offering his polite congratulations to Stephen in the process where most others seemed to focus primarily on Tony. Stephen offered a smile of his own in return, though for the most part, the man stayed quiet, picking at his food more than eating it.

His expression was familiar to Tony, who had grown up dealing with businessmen and their varied masks. Stephen was polite, recognizing the merriment of the occasion, but there was no denying that he was uneasy.

Loki made his appearance to make the situation all the more awkward as he hooked an arm around either of their shoulders to give them both a big hug and congratulate them, with Stephen simply giving a sigh at the green rider’s antics. Others came and went, people he barely knew, or didn’t know at all, offering their greetings before a low grumble outside the banquet hall announced the arrival of someone else who wanted to greet him. A couple of others, in fact.

Stephen was on his feet in a heartbeat, though to his credit he paused to offer Tony a hand up rather than simply disappearing to greet the newcomers on his own.

Tony had a few pieces of food in his mouth before he looked up at Stephen's offered hand and just like he was used to at business meetings and conferences when meeting female investors he obliged Stephen and let the man take him where he needed to go.

"We'll be back!" he mouthed to Loki as Stephen whisked him away with haste, Loki looking quite confused as the two slipped out. There was a certain thrill in having Stephen steal him away and he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the temporary show of inclusion.

The brunette didn't know who they were going to meet, just that Stephen was in a rush.

Stephen led him outside, and they’d barely reached the sunlight when a pair of big heads blocked the sun again and Tony found himself smothered.

<_ Good morning, Tony! _> Friday greeted cheerily, nudging at him rather excitedly. Just behind her Levi sat with his head high and proud, and Stephen’s hand released Tony’s as the man stepped an extra few paces away to curl his arms around the red’s neck.

A few others followed them outside, though no one interfered with the riders greeting their dragons. Applause broke out and Levi flared his wings to give another happy trumpeting noise, before carefully curling his wings around Stephen to block him in, even as his tail draped around his golden mate.

Tony had been knocked flat on his back by Friday who was hovering over him keeping him down on the ground with her snout nudging into his stomach playfully. She was happy, and now he was happy - over the moon even - as the two shared a moment and a laugh when she managed to strike one of Tony's ticklish spots with the blunt of her snout.

<_ Good morning to you too, Friday. Congratulations, baby girl, I knew you could do it. _> He slowly climbed off the ground, hooking an arm around one of her horns.

<_ Thank you, Tony, I'm so happy, I'm glad Levi was the one... _> she crooned softly to him.

Friday lifted him up and dropped him into the opening in Levi's wings at Tony’s suggestion, he landed beside Stephen with a smirk. "Hey you two stop hiding, there's a crowd of people out there to see the both of you." He placed a hand on Levi's snout, rubbing it softly.

Levi crooned softly at Tony, nuzzling his hand a bit before curling his head in to nudge the man who was still pressed against his chest, holding the dragon. Stephen took a long moment to let go, giving the dragon a couple of pats before he released Levi and gave a small nod. The dragon unfurled his wings and sat himself up proudly again, nestling in against Friday’s side and tucking his head against hers with a soft grumble.

A cheer went out as the dragons cuddled in against each other, and the smile on Stephen’s face when he turned around was surprisingly resolute. “Sorry,” he stated softly enough that Tony less heard it than read it on his lips over the crowd’s hoots and hollers.

Pepper made an appearance with a small tray to offer the pair mimosas to celebrate, giving Stephen a rather pointed look when he hesitated before picking up the glass and raising it a little. The crowd fell silent and Stephen shifted awkwardly in his spot, clearing his throat.

“I think we all know that I’ve never been good at speeches or toasts. But today is a special day, isn’t it? The first day in nearly six years that we’ve had official Sanctum leaders. I suppose it’s lucky for all of us that Tony is more social than I am so that someone else can do these in the future,” Stephen offered Tony a small salute for that, before looking to the rest of the crowd. “More importantly, I want to raise a toast to Tony on whole. No matter what may come, I have no doubt that under his leadership the Sanctum will thrive. To Tony.”

His glass raised higher, and the crowd gave an echoing cheer. _ “To Tony!” _

Tony slung an arm around Stephen's shoulders throwing him a little off-kilter with the force, though held steady by the remarkably muscular form of the brunette. He hauled him in close and lifted his mimosa up with the other to cheer with the crowd, putting on his best smile for them.

The cheering died down some and Tony lowered his glass to address the audience in his own speech.

"I may not have been Sanctum born, so every part of this was difficult but under Stephen’s masterful tutelage I was able to manage. I know I've made some serious errors in the past but from this point forward, as a Sanctum leader, I plan to make calculated decisions - to move past those ways and guide the Sanctum hopefully into a prospering future. May the legacy of our clutch grow to be strong and resilient, and may we all strive to do better than what we were so that we can all keep growing as one united order. To Levi and Friday, to Stephen and most importantly - to all of you." Tony raised his glass once more and the audience gave a resounding cheer as he looked around, thrilled by the onslaught of cheers.

Friday flared her wings and both red and gold drakes cheered along with them.

Stephen simply emptied his glass, giving a winning smile as people began to crowd around the two of them and the dragons. Tony was jostled and knocked and at first when Stephen disappeared from his side he thought the man had been pulled away in the fray.

It was nearly an hour later as the crowd began to disperse that Tony realized Stephen was nowhere to be found and the hollowness of the celebration settled in around him. 

Levi and Friday accompanied him to his quarters, and the dragons nestled themselves together in a sweet display of tangled limbs and affection, their love pouring over him in waves. Yet the door Stephen had ages ago indicated linked the two apartments was closed and felt as though it might be a wall. It would have taken so little to reach out and knock, to see if Stephen was there, if he was okay… but instead, Tony stripped himself of the ceremonial robes and sunk himself into the large heated bath, with Levi’s tail curling against one side of him, and Friday’s on the other, both drakes seeming pleased to keep him near.

* * *

<_ He's been sad all day... I can feel it, it makes me sad as well... _> Friday crooned softly to Levi with concern, her tail lightly brushing at Tony's side who was currently preoccupied with just zoning out in the hot water and staring at the ceiling.

<_ Stephen has felt the same. It always happens when they are together. I know Stephen has strong feelings for Tony, but I know not why he doesn't pursue them, especially after the flight, _> Levi bumped his nose against Friday and peered towards the apartment door.

<_ I know my Tony has similar feelings, he tells me, I feel them... yet, while I may express these to Stephen - he cannot. He doesn't feel he can, _> the gold responded, her eyes half-lidded as she lowered her head to the floor to rest.

<_ Perhaps we might help show them how to express these feelings. I don't know the nuances of human emotions but they are both Sanctum leaders, and while they don't necessarily need to act like a couple, they share the heartbreak of two souls separated... _> Levi added softly.

"You two sound like a couple of birds chirping over there." Tony smirked and threw a sponge at Friday's back which earned him a surprised grunt from her and then a long lick up his cheek as 'revenge'.

Levi gave a pointed and purposeful chirp at that in response, curling the end of his tail around Tony’s waist some as he nestled against his mate’s head, before resting his muzzle near Tony, inhaling the steam.

<_ I thought they’d be happy now. _ > Friday mused as her tongue mussed Tony’s hair. < _ How do humans express these emotions if not while mating? _>

Levi snuffed a little at that. <_ I’m afraid I don’t know. Stephen has had many partners he mated with, but he does not feel the same way about them as he does Tony. _>

Tony turned to look at the muzzle snuffling through his damp mop of hair, he started to really feel something stir in his gut. "Now, now - that's inappropriate. If you two don't plan on dealing with the aftermath then you might want to reconsider." Tony was mainly addressing Levi but the scolding was partially aimed at Friday too, he wasn't serious though and a lazy smile graced his features as he grabbed Levi's snout in a wet hug.

<_ What does he mean? _> Levi's eyes flicked to Friday.

<_ He is becoming sexually aroused under your stimulations, _ > she cooed with amusement. < _ Multiple partners while not sharing emotion? If there is no love, and no means to procreate then what is the point for males to partake in such an act? _> she inquired softly with a series of gentle coos.

<_ Stephen says it makes him 'feel good,' but afterwards, he feels hollow which I do not understand myself either, _> the red replied, his tongue lashing out to Tony's chest.

“You’re pushing it, red…!” Tony squirmed at the tongue lashing, huffing indignantly to himself, though it did little to discourage the red dragon.

<_ Find out more, _ > Friday instructed. < _ We need to fix this. I can’t stand them being so sad. _>

<_ Anything for you, my queen, _ > Levi responded, ignoring Tony’s hands nudging at his nose even as Levi gave him a grumble and another lick. < _ ... should I take care of him? _>

Friday chortled at that, but simply snuggled against Tony further. <_ Don’t tease him. He’s sad about Stephen. You remind him of Stephen. It may make him more sad. _>

Levi gave a low growl at that before setting his head down beside the other man, content to simply keep his mate and her rider company for the afternoon - or at least as long as they decided to stay there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	8. Chapter 8

It was three days before Tony so much as caught sight of Stephen again - though to be fair, that was partially because Tony had been called on to handle several new tasks as per his role in the Sanctum. That meant gathering up information on stocks and rations, taking time with various members of the Sanctum to discuss general issues that required remedying, and to make appointments to hear out various other grievances that required dispute resolution, as well as organizing and getting used to his new apartment.

Seeing him was far cry from speaking with him, however, as the man was hauling several large things off in the distance and it was a terribly inconvenient time to try and reach out to the man. So the next time they really interacted was almost a week later, when he and Tony returned to their apartments around the same time.

At first, he wasn’t certain if the man was going to avoid him altogether, but Stephen gave him a brief smile and was courteous enough to ask how he was, and how the week had been going for him. As though they were neighbours. Tony found that he rather hated that, and the conversation was kept as short as manners would allow.

This was the type of small talk he would have appreciated and engaged in had this been the first few days of their mentor-mentee relationship where Tony was trying to break the ice. However, that simply wasn't the case here. They'd known each other for a little over five years and by this point, even with their turbulent relationship, the conversation should have at least felt more sincere.

Ever since the mating flight, Tony's feelings had changed and there was a very vivid shift in tone between them. Tony usually put his work before his grievances though he lied to no-one when it came to those who really paid attention to him, using a facade to mask the current inner turmoil which his close friends could see right through.

He still had feelings for Stephen and despite thinking they might just taper off, they never did. He thought they would have faded, that these feelings were simply spur-of-the-moment because of the emotionally charged atmosphere of the mating flight, but there were also their dragons to consider. It was as if the best parts of themselves were backed up and stored away from them, and Friday and Levi each held aspects of those reserved relationships, feeding him like a power cell.

Tony had put off approaching Stephen about it but his general annoyance with the man's inaccessibility was starting to wear on him and he needed to confront his old mentor about it. He thought about the possible outcome of such a discussion, being scoffed at for having those sentiments in the first place was what hindered him, but at least making an attempt to talk about them with the person of interest could be a step in the right direction. If not for being open with Stephen, then for his own sense of closure on the matter. 

Tony was not an idle man and he'd shown that he was always a creature of forward-momentum that couldn't be stopped. This was going to happen regardless of whether he wanted it to or not, in some form or another.

Friday lifted her head as Tony headed towards the door. < _ Where are you off to Tony? _ > Levi had likewise looked towards him. 

< _ I need to talk to Stephen, I'm just going over to his apartment, will be back in a moment. _ > Levi looked at Friday a little uncertain and the drakes exchanged glances.

< _ Levi says it's not a good time- _ >

< _ It's never a good time with him, whatever he's doing - it can wait. _ > Tony pushed through the division in their quarters. Seeing that Stephen's door was open he gave a knock and walked inside after hearing nothing.

< _ Tony, really, he says Stephen is indisposed right now, _ > she sounded a little frantic, seeming to pick her words carefully knowing what could happen.

Tony shook his head, Friday would surely feel his growing irritation but he ignored her concern. Tony got to the bedroom door, hearing some strange sounds, it sounded like Stephen was moaning… in… pain?

He grasped the handle and knocked on the door. "Stephen, I need to talk to you for a sec..." There was a loud crack that followed.

< _ Tony, no! _ > He could vaguely make out Friday's bellows from the other room as he heard her quite clearly in his mind but whatever the sounds in the room were left him a bit uneasy.

The door opened smoothly enough, without so much as a creak, and his unease became a twisted knife in his stomach.

Stephen lay across his bed naked but for the black straps that seemed to twist across his skin, fastening his arms to the headboard above him and cutting across his back in a rather artistic pentagram. His legs were widely parted, with the shredded remnants of what might have been stockings once curving over the muscles of his thighs and calves. His face had been hidden in a pillow, pale fingers brushing through dark strands.

“That’s better, isn’t it? If you keep making so much noise someone might hear you,” the man attached to those fingers, Kaecilius, chuckled a little as he continued to pet Stephen’s hair gently.

The red rider stifled another groan into the pillow as Kaecilius gave another hard thrust, rocking the taller man’s body forward. “What a good boy, Stephen… you’re such a good boy for me…”

That was all Tony needed, he took a few steps back and closed the door again before swiftly turning around and sinking his back against the door, covering his face.

< _ ... it wasn’t Stephen trying to say he was busy, Tony, _ > Friday crooned softly, which was plenty enough encouragement to the rider for him to get up and make his way to the dragons.

Both the red and the gold seemed to understand his need at least enough for them to bundle around him, cradling him against themselves with wings and tails. 

< _ Gotcha. Figured that out, Friday. Thanks. _ >

Shock, jealousy, defeat, heartbreak. The gold could sense it all despite Tony's lack of reaction. He tried to keep himself together, legs shaking too much to stand. The image was burned into his head and he felt Friday’s soft soothing emotions try to sweep away the turbulent internal struggles he had.

"God, I'm an idiot," he murmured, the figurative ice was building in his chest and it seemed like Friday was doing her best to try and melt it away. His chest tightened and he attempted to hold back what felt like tears as the corners of his eyes went damp and Friday gently pressed the bridge of her nose to his chest.

< _ I think I actually love Stephen… and I hate having these feelings Fri - I can't... _ > His thoughts were a mess. < _ I haven't been able to shake these feelings since the flight, I thought they would stop, go away - no, they've only gotten harder to deal with. _ >

< _ I know Tony, I love him too… Just calm down, we're here for you, _ > her eyes flickered to the red that bellowed with concern, nudging his face into Tony's shoulder and trying to offer as much comfort as possible.

Naturally, being told to calm down didn’t help much as Tony covered his face a little, leaning against the dragons and shaking some as he tried to make the thoughts in his head slow down, though inevitably they continued to circle back around to what he’d seen. There was a long period of quiet before Friday nudged him gently.

< _ Can we do something to help? I can send Levi to fetch you something? Food? Anything? Or if you want a friend, I can ask Hela to bring Loki…? _ > When Tony didn’t respond, the gold dragon gave a soft croon and rested her nose against his lap.

< _ I think... _ > Tony paused in his thoughts, he wasn't sure if he wanted the others to see him like this. He was vulnerable right now and as the Sanctum’s newly appointed leader it may not have been the best to show off this kind of weakness. At this same time, he really needed someone to talk to, someone who could empathize with his point of view who understood him.

< _ Yeah… That would be great if you wouldn't mind Fri, _ > he squeezed her muzzle and she purred softly trying to calm him down.

It was a good fifteen minutes before Loki let himself in, humming softly to himself as he did. “Tony, I was told you are miserable and have come to commiserate. I brought whiskey… where in this fucking palace are you?”

Levi gave a soft greeting to the man and shifted to partially free Tony from where the dragons had bundled him before Friday gave a huff at the newcomer and released Tony the rest of the way. Loki stopped dead in his tracks.

“Oh. Geez. Yeah, you look pretty miserable. I’ll make yours a double, shall I?”

Tony unfolded himself from his fetal position on the ground and stood. 

Awful was an understatement for the brunette whose eyes were wet and puffy, cheeks flushed and he didn't say a thing as he walked over to Loki and wrapped his arms around the man, pressing his forehead into his shoulder, still shaking.

Loki seemed confused. Hands full, he led Tony over towards the coffee table so he could put the glasses and bottle down to wrap his arms fully around the other man in a comforting embrace before guiding him down to the couch.

"Come, sit, tell your best friend and saviour what happened." Tony let out a half-amused breath of air through his nose. 

"I'm just… a mess, I can't - I..." He shivered, trying to broach the subject meant recalling what happened and it was just too much at the moment.

“Did you stub your toe? Have a nightmare about Thor? Those always get me worked up, too,” Loki rambled as he gave Tony some time to collect himself some, stroking his back and holding him close. “Have a fight with Stephen? Oh! Or Steve? He sure seemed testy earlier…”

Despite his rambling, Loki’s voice was soothing in ways, and the hand along his back helped to ground him as the green rider rested his head on Tony’s. “I’m probably being insensitive, though, aren’t I? Did one of your parents pass away? I can take you to see them if that’s the thing. I know you give up a lot of those things by law when you join the Sanctum but I can’t imagine letting them go emotionally is as easy as signing a piece of paper…”

"I walked in on Stephen and Kaecelius," he said quietly. It was a soft whimper that came out into Loki's neck, almost muffled by his clothing. His fingers tightened and his voice hitched with the admission and the smile on Loki's face faltered at that moment.

"Wait, like-"

"-Yes." The brunette puffed out another strangled breath of air. "They are still there, in Stephen's apartment, there wasn't any mistaking what I saw. I just-" He trailed off stuck on his words. It had taken him all the strength he could to come out with the explanation. Loki's hand continued to smooth over Tony's back, though he stopped to fasten both arms around him and towed him into his lap despite the squeak of protest Tony let out.

“I’m sorry, Tony.” The more lighthearted tone Loki had used before became serious as he held the other man close. “I didn’t think this would get you so worked up… I guess I underestimated your feelings for him, huh…? And that’s… not a nice way to find things out regardless… shit. Do you wanna skip on the glasses? The whole bottle is right there. You can help yourself, and if you puke your guts out later I’ll help you clean up.”

"I could really use the drink, I just - would you mind keeping me company tonight? Staying with me?" He sighed, finally regaining himself enough to pull away from Loki's shoulder, but the man didn't let him move away from his lap at all and kept his hands on Tony's elbows to prevent him from sneaking off to try and isolate himself.

"I have very strong feelings for him, probably even love him. It started as something small, but the flight made it worse, and the feeling never went away as much as I wished it would." He was starting to sound like a broken record, having gone through this entire thing with Friday.

The dragons were all lying around behind the couch, Levi and Friday curled up on the ground together with Hela perched in the center of them lazily staring towards the couch.

"Emotions are complicated," Loki sighed a little as he rested his chin on Tony's head, reaching a hand out to open the bottle before pouring Tony a glass of whiskey. "... And for Stephen. Geez. You're playing with fire there. But I guess as dragon riders playing with fire is a thing, huh?"

Picking up the cup, Loki offered it to Tony with one hand. "So what are you going to do about it? I dunno if you noticed but Stephen's pretty shit at connecting with people emotionally. The only people he really spends time with for reasons other than work are Mordo, Wong and Kaecilius, aside from when you two go on your little swimming escapades - well, and Tilly but that's a different thing altogether. So I mean... You wanna just scream into a pillow and give him the cold shoulder for a while? Revoke group swim rights? Or...?"

"I mean… I don't know if I'll be able to look at him the right way for a while, I had originally wanted to talk to him about how I felt, I've been struggling with how to deal with these feelings and I figured I'd just bite the bullet and approach him about it regardless. The worst that could happen is I get rejected, which at this point wouldn't really be a surprise or even much different than how I feel right now." Tony partially spat, taking the glass from Loki immediately after he'd finished pouring and taking a massive chug from it. 

Tony cleared his throat, wiping the drops away from his mouth. "Right now," Tony braced himself with a hand on Loki's shoulder, "I feel like absolute shit."

“I’ll stay with you tonight,” Loki finally sighed. “I mean, listen, this isn’t the  _ way _ or the  _ reason _ I wanted to stay with you, but yeah. I’ll be a good friend and stay. But you take some time to sort out how you want to deal with this, okay? No rash decisions that you’ll just end up regretting. In the meantime, though, I mean… even if he didn’t reject you, have you considered what kind of relationship you’d be walking into? Steve’s a really decent guy and it didn’t work out between you two. If things with Mr. Perfect didn’t make you happy, do you really figure a relationship with someone who has the emotional capacity of a grape is going to be any better?”

The green rider’s free arm curled around Tony’s waist again as he hugged the man close.

"That's the thing..." Tony mumbled softly as he leaned his head down against Loki's shoulder once more. His glass was clasped in his hands as he made sure not to spill it on the other man. "Steve was just… too perfect I just, I - I don't know, we just didn't click and you even commented on the gruelling pace our relationship was crawling at," the brunette closed his eyes.

"I get that you're trying to make me see reason, but there are reasons I can't even fathom that have me attracted to Stephen. Maybe it's the fact that he's not Mr. Perfect, that he's awful upfront but can show emotion if needed. Different strokes for different folks I guess..."

There was a moment of silence as all he felt was Loki's hands on his back, stroking up and down in calm ministrations.

"He's… perfectly imperfect and I've had experiences with him that I just never really feel like I've had with Steve. It simply wasn't sustainable because of that."

“Is this one of those ‘he may not be perfect, but he’s perfect for me’ things? Because wow, you sap.” Loki sighed a bit at him, leaning back against the cushions some and resting Tony against his chest further. “How well do you really know Stephen? I mean, maybe I can help with that a little? We used to be friends. A lot has changed since then but…” the man paused.

“Should we be talking about this in front of Levi?” The red dragon gave an indignant huff at that, simply curling in against his mate and closing his eyes.

"Levi knows everything there is to know, I wouldn't say anything in front of him that I wouldn't say to Friday," Tony was inevitably pulled down against Loki's chest as he reclined on the sofa.

"Maybe it's one of those situations but the bond did something and as much as I want to ignore I really can't. I love Stephen, or at least I think I do, with all of his flaws..." Tony managed to not spill his whiskey as he weakly set it down on the table beside them. "It's not exactly like I can argue with my feelings."

“For the record, I argue with my feelings all the time,” Loki joked before sighing softly.

Tony frowned and a hand went down against Loki's chest in a mock slap.

“So what do you want to do about this? You said you wanted to try and talk to him about it… but how do you want to approach it? I mean, I hate to be the asshole bringing this up, but you just walked in on him with another man… are you going to mention that? Are you just going to open with ‘hey, Stephen, I love you’? Or sit him down with one of those ‘we need to talk’s? Or what?”

"I don't know… Should I bring it up? I was just going to mention how the effect of the bond has been lingering longer than anticipated and then I'd ask him if he'd be interested in at least trying to work on a relationship." He let out a soft sigh and there seemed to be a collective grumble from the drakes as if they were making comments about it to one another.

“That sounds rational at least. Nothing flowery or over the top there,” Loki hummed. “If he does, hooray… and if he doesn’t… how are you going to deal with that? I’m happy to be a rebound you know,” he teased, giving Tony a bit of a grin.

Tony let out another sigh, he was doing that a lot and he simply couldn't help it given the situation he'd gotten himself tangled in.

"You know at this point I would honestly consider it, but of all the options I'd probably just have to move on and just… focus on leading the Sanctum." It hurt Tony to think of the alternatives but there weren't very many options to pick from.

Stephen was a wild card, he couldn't even read the other man and his answers were basically anyone's game.

* * *

By the time morning rolled around, Tony’s head was throbbing. He didn’t recall if he’d thrown up the night before or what, but Loki was passed out on the couch, and Tony was left staring at the ceiling with a pair of dragon heads resting on either side of him taking up most of the bed.

Rubbing at his face, he pulled himself out of bed and stepped around the slumbering dragons to make his way to the bathroom, washing his face quickly and getting himself presentable, before glancing at Loki as he tried to determine whether he ought to wake the green rider or simply let him sleep. The man seemed pretty out of it though, and Tony shook his head a little, checking the time.

If he got to it quickly he was fairly sure he could at least catch Stephen before the man disappeared out to do whatever it was he usually disappeared to do first thing in the morning. Levi gave a soft grumble and while the dragon couldn’t communicate with him the way Friday could, for a moment he swore the dragon was wishing him luck.

Putting his robes back on and checking that he was in a mostly put together state, he slipped past the slumbering bodies and headed for the door. He stood out in the dividing area between the two apartments before raising a fist to the door and knocking a few times on it.

Unlike yesterday, the door to his apartment was closed and he knew better than to walk right in after what happened last time. The thought of it started to give way to panic and Tony's mind immediately began to manifest those awful thoughts which he was working so hard to get away from.

Stephen didn’t take long to answer the door, quiet when he did. A toothbrush stuck out of his mouth and the man wasn’t exactly the most presentable with his ruffled hair and boxers being sufficient proof that the man had only just recently awoken. He waved Tony in regardless as he trudged back towards the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth.

Tony refused to look the man in the eye, seeing him dredged up the memories from last night but he followed the other into his apartment and took a seat as he let the other go about his business. The images from last night haunted him, Kaecilius' voice, Stephen on the bed and the two of them fornicating. 

“Mmm, morning. To what do I owe the pleasure?” he inquired once he’d rinsed his mouth, patting at his face and giving Tony a drowsy look.

His heart rate sped up and the anxiety rose as he tried to spit out the words he'd rehearsed multiple times in his head. "I needed to talk to you about something if you have a moment."

“I have several moments, what can I help you with?” the man responded easily enough, tucking into the bedroom to pull on some clothes and returning to sit across from him as he pulled on his socks, before leaning back in the seat to watch Tony curiously.

Tony folded his hands in his lap and chewed on his words, his fingers folding and locking, fidgeting restlessly before he was finally able to collect himself again.

"I wanted to talk about some stuff related to the mating flight, and potentially… things that could be unrelated." He received an impassive stare from Stephen followed by a long pause as if the man was urging him to continue and get it out.

"I..." Tony started, catching himself. "I've had feelings that developed since before the flight, and those feelings never left as much as I hoped they would," Tony continued, and Stephen seemed even more intent on listening. "I know that what the dragons have is simply their own feelings, but ever since the flight… well, I'm going to be honest, I have feelings for you that I just can't shake and at this point, I'd expected them to fade after the flight - but they never did."

“You’re constantly around Friday and Levi, and thus constantly being bombarded by their feelings. I wouldn’t expect it to be terribly surprising that some of that emotion is rubbing off on you,” Stephen finally sighed when Tony fell quiet. “Similarly so, in the lead-up to their flight. For you and Friday this is your first mating flight, and the intensity of those feelings is likely to linger for a while, something of a honeymoon phase I imagine. Eventually, you’ll be able to sort your emotions from Friday’s without issue and everything will return to normal.”

_ Ah, so there was his answer. _

Tony's veins ran cold and he stared down at his lap, his pupils darting as he felt light-headed from the response Stephen had given him.

"So you don't feel anything, not even a little bit after what we've been through?" Tony finally looked up at Stephen, meeting his eyes and he felt the ice in his veins, the cold hand grasping his heart as it slowly began to squeeze.

“I’m not sure what you’re asking here, exactly. I’m proud of you, proud of your progress as a student, confident in your abilities as a Sanctum leader… But I am under no illusions about the fact that what’s between us is something more akin to a business arrangement than anything else.” Stephen’s calmness and matter-of-fact tone were starting to grate on Tony, but the man continued to speak.

“You’ve hated me basically since the day you arrived, you have no reason to have these feelings you’re suggesting you have. I’m not your type, given your previous dating history, not in the slightest. If you hadn’t imprinted on Friday, then I’m reasonably certain we’d have had no reason to speak whatsoever. To say I have no feelings is to indicate that there are specific feelings you’re expecting me to have - and if they’re the feelings I expect that have you in such a knot, then perhaps you should spend some time sorting out those feelings and their origin, and how much sense they make, before you start looking to others to reciprocate them.”

Tony's uncertainty turned into a scowl, but he wasn't a child - he wasn't going to throw some tantrum. Stephen's answer was the equivalent of driving a knife through someone's heart, and he did just that to Tony. The brunette's hands stopped fidgeting and instead balled into fists before relaxing. All the anger and passion channelled through him, but he had the patience of an ox, and the temperance to at least hold himself together in the other man's presence.

"Well, you certainly have me all figured out, don't you?" Tony rose to his feet and turned to leave, Stephen had made it blatantly clear that nothing was reciprocal on his end. There was no need for him to linger any longer here.

< _ Friday, let's go... _ >

< _ Where to...? _ > She rose softly, Levi raising his head groggily to look at her confused, she gave him an apologetic look and left, taking her rider with her.

< _ Anywhere but here, I need air and space. _ >

“Tony…?” The voice that called after him disappeared on the wind as Friday dove and made her way off into the fields beyond the Sanctum, carrying Tony away to give him as much space as she could.

< _ What happened? Did it go poorly? _ > the gold inquired as she flew, carrying them out in the direction of the coast in search of a quiet space for Tony to relax and calm down, but her worry seeped through as she continued on.

< _ Let’s just say I got nothing short of what I expected, there's nothing more to it Fri, I just need to get some air. _ > The brunette leaned down close to his companion's back as she flew through the air to no specific destination.

* * *

Stephen found himself standing at the door Tony had left open between their suites, face to face with an amused looking old friend.

“Let me guess, you’re a fucking idiot?”

“I don’t… know what happened…”

“Because you’re a fucking idiot. Alright, let’s sit down and talk.” Loki rolled his eyes as he turned the red rider around and shoved him into a seat in his own quarters. “What did you tell him?”

“To make sure he knew what he was feeling?”

“No, Stephen, what  _ exactly _ did you tell him?”

Stephen took a few moments before recapping events for Loki, growing more and more confused as he watched Loki’s exasperated but amused expression. By the time he finished, Loki had poured himself a drink that he began to sip at, despite it being barely 8AM.

“Yeah. I reiterate you’re a fucking idiot. I get that you’re essentially useless when it comes to dealing with people, but even you should know by now that telling people that you know how they feel better than they do is absolutely the stupidest thing you can do. On the asshole scale that’s a solid 9.5 out of 10.”

“Loki-”

“No, no. You’ve really outdone yourself. I mean, I wasn’t expecting much from you to start, but this goes leagues beyond my expectations of your dumbassery…”

“Loki! What the hell is going on?”

The black-haired man leaned forward, staring at Stephen. “Do you or do you not love Tony? Yes or no answer.”

“I--”

“I said yes or no. There’s no ‘I’ in either of those words.”

Stephen was quiet for a long while, before running his hand through his hair and sinking back into his seat. “... yes?”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“Am I supposed to? I have no idea what being in love feels like! And the whole prospect of it scares the shit out of me!”

"Right and the fact that you can't express yourself earnestly and keep walking the same path over and over scares the shit out of me," Loki leaned back on his seat with an ironic grin on his face which just as soon faded as he broached the next topic of conversation.

"You know he walked in on you two last night."

"I'm sorry?" Stephen raised his voice.

"I'd hold my apologies if I were you - you and Kaecilius. Tony walked in and saw the both of you. Be glad he was too fucking heartbroken to snap a few photos for blackmail and that he's not nearly half as cruel as you've been." He took a swig from his glass. It almost seemed like there was a certain sick amusement the raven-haired man derived from seeing Stephen either bent out of shape or surprised because the red rider was definitely surprised - speechless almost.

“I… I haven’t meant to be cruel. And I didn’t mean to hurt him either…” Stephen rested his elbows on his knees and hung his head, closing his eyes tightly as he tried to make sense of the situation he was in.

< _ You haven’t exactly been kind, Stephen. _ >

< _ You, too, huh…? Thanks, Levi. Your support is… noted, _ > Stephen sighed heavily.

“Why didn’t he knock…?”

“Honestly, Stephen? Knowing you he probably did, and you were too far into subspace to notice - or screaming so loud neither you nor Kaecilius could hear him.”

“Thanks for that.”

“Don’t even pretend like I’m exaggerating. You’re not exactly good at being aware of people around you when you’re like that,” Loki rolled his eyes a bit, an action Stephen only caught because he’d raised his eyes enough to glare at the man.

“I haven’t meant to hurt him but I keep doing it anyway. It’s not like I knew he had any interest in me, or even  _ liked _ me! I mean, god, I’m the furthest thing from his type-”

“Steve isn’t his type, I set them up because I thought they’d be good together. So don’t start with that, please, I don’t want to hear it from you.”

“There are reasons I just… kept my distance, Loki,” Stephen added, hating the hint of a plea in his voice. He needed someone to understand, someone other than Mordo.

"Then, by all means, keep your distance Stephen, do what you need to do. But for god's sake have a little heart when you talk to people, him especially since he seems to have it all for you." Loki ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. 

"I can't say it's not frustrating when I've watched both of you play this game of cat and mouse for the past five years, you're part of the reason Steve and him didn't work out. I know you're not a people person Stephen, so whatever, but if you don't have those feelings - at least stop pretending to know what's going on in his head and treat him like  _ he's _ human and has feelings because you clearly don't. You dig yourself a deeper hole every time you react rather than act. It wouldn't kill you to have a little empathy for others once in a while, and this is coming from me." Loki rolled his eyes with a very overexaggerated sigh.

“What… am I supposed to do…?” Stephen sunk further into his seat, glancing up further as Levi made his way over to cuddle against him for the first time in what felt like forever. 

He’d been more lonely in the last three years than he’d felt his entire life, and it wasn’t as though loneliness was unfamiliar to him. But Levi’s interest in Friday often left him without the dragon’s companionship, and he missed Levi in a way most people wouldn’t have been able to understand. It was hard to explain but it had certainly added to his depression of late, too.

“I don’t want to hurt him, but I’m utterly useless at relationships. Any relationships. Romantic or otherwise,” he stated quietly as he stroked the dragon’s nose with the palm of his hand. “I mean, except maybe a sexual relationship, but I fucked up the morning after the flight, too. Completely. I don’t know how to take care of someone else after I’m…”

"So is that it then? As a Sanctum leader and a role-model to the people around you, every time you mess up or assume something isn't working in your favour you run away from it, hmm?" Loki prodded a little indignantly.

"It says two things to me, that either one - you're a coward, which I thought you weren't but I'm starting to have some serious doubts given the choices you've been making lately, or two, you have feelings, strong feelings for the man that you are too busy caught up in your own mind to face.

"Tony was mortified to come to you, but at least he took some initiative to face his fears, knowing well that facing rejection could possibly be the worst thing he had to deal with, but you see, he's bigger than just the two of you - he has the Sanctum to look out for, the dragons and future clutch and despite having mentored him, you could do to learn from him. And where have you been through all of this Stephen? The answers surely won't be given to you if that's what you're expecting from all this, at some point you're going to have to take some initiative and stop running."

“Where have I been? Do you think I’ve just been hiding and letting him run the Sanctum on his own for fuck’s sake? You know that Friday can’t blink right now, I’ve been dealing with the other Sanctums and trying to make sure things are running smoothly on that front, plus trying to handle alerting the government to the official change in leadership, but I suppose I’m supposed to put politics and my duties on hold to try and  _ further _ fuck up my relationship with the other leader of the New York Sanctum?” For a moment there was a shot of fury in his voice before his temper died down.

“But what would you know, about putting responsibilities before personal feelings anyway?”

“Funny you should say that. Because here I am, talking to  _ your _ dumb ass, so that the leaders of this Sanctum  _ don’t _ actually hate each other, despite the fact that that’s  _ my _ best friend that just disappeared probably in tears because of you and the fact that, guess what?  _ You’re not the only one in this Sanctum that loves him _ you goddamn imbecile.” Loki finished off his drink and dropped the cup on the table, filling it again before shoving it across the glass at Stephen.

“So suck it up, buttercup, and treat him well  _ before someone else does it for you. _ ”

Stephen felt an odd chill at those words and his hand fell still in its place on Levi’s nose. “... you’re right. I’m sorry. That was uncalled for.”

Loki seemed to roll his eyes with an exasperated sigh. "They say actions speak louder than words but you're just bad at the actions part, so I don't know if you're quite a lost cause, yet." He poured himself a new glass and tipped his glass to Stephen. The other weakly picked up the one that was slid across the table to tap them together.

"Besides, wouldn't it be a lot nicer having Tony plow your whiny ass into submission rather than those other two buffoons you keep around? At least you can have sexual satisfaction and feelings at the same time instead of keeping those things separate like they are worlds apart." 

He walked up to Stephen using Hela's illusory magic so Loki appeared as Tony to the other man. He ran his fingers under Stephen's beard playfully. "Oh Stephen, you've been such a naughty boy, let me punish you..."

A shudder ran through him and Stephen grit his teeth a little, huffing a sigh that came out considerably more like a soft whine than anything. His hand came up to grab Loki’s wrist as he shook his head, shifting back in his seat. “That’s… not fair, Loki. And if he caught us, he’d be pissed with both of us. The point is to do better, right? So I’ll talk to him. This evening, maybe. I’ll try and fix this… don’t tempt me to make things any worse.”

He grinned at the hand holding his own. "Ah, alright then, that's what I like to hear, at least right now, that is." Loki withdrew his wrist and continued to hold that devious smirk. "But if you manage to royally fuck things up beyond repair, remember my  _ talents _ can be of use to you," he chuckled softly. " _ Likewise, for Tony. _ "

“You’re a pain in the ass sometimes, you know that?” Stephen stood, watching the other carefully and shaking his head. “... but I’ll keep that in mind. Though if you use  _ my body _ to fuck Tony and I find out about it, I might be cross with you. Out of jealousy, naturally.”

"Then I'll just have to make sure you never find out about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	9. Chapter 9

<_ Tony? _>

Friday’s voice cut into his thoughts as he sat with Steve and his wing, drinking perhaps a little more heavily than he should, but fuck it, he’d earned it hadn’t he? He deserved to relax after what he’d been struggling with today.

<_ What’s up baby girl? _> he inquired after a moment of silence, distracted by the group laughing at some joke Sam had made at Bucky’s expense.

<_ Levi wanted me to pass along that… Stephen wants to apologize, and to talk when you’re free. _>

<_ That asshole can fucking wait then. I’m not ready to deal with him yet, _ > Tony shifted uncomfortably in his spot, taking a long swig of his drink before sighing. < _ Stephen, that is. Not Levi. Levi’s a sweetheart and I love him. _>

<_ Alright. Well, I did what I was asked to do. You have fun. _>

“Why do you look like you just ate sour grapes?” Natasha asked from beside him, nudging Tony gently with her elbow and ignoring the antics of the rest of the group.

“Eh, Stephen wants to talk and I’m just… not ready to talk to him yet.”

“Mister High-and-Mighty try’na boss you around still?” Sam called over with a huff.

"You know for a Sanctum leader the guy's absolutely awful at talking to people. You'd think in all the time he's been training and studying he would have at least learned to speak to people. He clearly can't even have a proper conversation with himself let alone another human being," Steve sighed, taking another jab at the situation.

"Yeah - I get it, it's not like anything that Loki hasn't said before or warned me about. I guess I walked right into this despite all the warning signs." Tony gave a cynical laugh and finished off what may have been his fourth full glass of whiskey for the night.

"Man if only you'd gotten pictures of the two of them," Bucky chuckled.

Sam made a sour face. "You know as funny as that is, I think we all would have lost our food and our drink."

"I figure there’s a reason the only company he keeps is with the other two shut-ins who are equally quiet. They all get together and probably just stare at one another and that's their version of a conversation," Natasha chimed in, leaning against the bartop next to Tony trying to get her word in.

Pepper passed by, taking Tony's empty glass and exchanging it for a full one giving him a sympathetic look. She didn't say anything but simply put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed softly before returning to her rounds.

Loki, to Tony's left, had remained silent, it would have seemed like he said his part earlier but he was none too impressed by some of the comments that came out right now and doubted any of them were really helping the situation despite the company being important right now. His hand was gently resting around Tony's waist at the moment, keeping his movements steadied knowing the man was starting to sway a little from inebriation.

“I mean, maybe they’re all fucking,” Sam added with a shrug, “you know? I mean to be honest I thought Stephen and Mordo were fucking to begin with, Kaecilius was the odd one out to me, but hey maybe I’m only half wrong and they’re all fucking.”

“Do we have to keep talking about them fucking?” Bucky rolled his eyes at that.

Steve glanced briefly at Tony before giving them a shrug. “I think we can at least skip talking about that, who they choose to have sex with is up to them. There are considerably more valid issues to take with their behaviour. Like the fact that this guy wasn’t even going to try? I mean, you’d think Sanctum leaders would make the effort to get along at the very least or something, but no. He’s decided to be an asshole about things. Is it really that hard to be a decent human being to someone else?”

“Apparently, for some people, it really is,” Sam quipped.

"Hey, I'm going to step outside and get some fresh air guys." Tony interrupted a little softly, he didn't want to keep talking about the subject and took a step away when he had the chance.

The brunette caught Pepper when he was leaving, who gave him a one-armed hug, trying to balance the tray as he left and walked out the door. Loki was quick to follow, catching the cue as Steve turned his attention back to the group and the lot kept their joking.

Friday was there waiting for him with the other drakes as Tony walked up to the gold and began to gently pet her neck. He was waiting for Loki who inevitably followed him out and Tony looked simply defeated as the man walked out.

"Shall we head back?" Loki went to rub Tony's shoulders and he nodded.

"Yeah, I think I'm just about done with the group bashing session there. It was funny when it started but I can't really say I enjoy the ongoing insults." He sighed and began to climb up onto the gold dragon's back, looking to Loki with a weak smile.

“I’m sure they’re trying to support you,” Loki offered a small smile of his own as he climbed up onto Hela’s back. “Even if they’re kinda being dicks about it and are definitely showing their biases about Stephen, but… Well, anyway. We can just drink the two of us after all…”

“Hey, Tony…?” A quiet voice called, and he glanced over to see Bruce waving a bit shyly, “I uh, I just wanted to apologize for them and uh… well, I wanted to say that I hope things work out well for you and Stephen. He’s a lot of things but… I’ve never known him to be intentionally cruel and heartless. I hope you guys can figure it out.” The man shifted his feet, dropping his gaze before offering a hesitant smile. “Anyway, goodnight! And good luck.”

"Hey, yeah thanks, Bruce. We're just going back to get away from it all, I guess I'm not twenty anymore, where I could just gossip about someone to the end of the day if I was unhappy with them. I still have feelings and I guess I can't just shrug it off and tolerate the name-calling and slander," he laughed a bit cynically. "Plus you know… Maybe I've capped out for the night and could use some rest after all of this."

Loki nodded to Tony. "Shall we go?" Tony nodded in response, regarding Bruce once more.

"You're good people, Bruce," he flashed him the best smile he could before patting Friday and the two flew back to his quarters.

Once they landed, with Loki just a little behind him, Tony got Friday out of her saddle for the night and scratched at her scales, particularly in a spot she always found itchy and difficult to reach after a day of wearing the saddle. Loki settled himself on the couch to watch them and Hela simply laid herself down, resting her head near her rider’s feet.

“So, when do you figure you’ll wanna talk to Stephen? Gonna let him wallow in his own assholery for a while?”

Tony lopped himself down on the couch beside him, leaning entirely back into the back of the couch as he stared blankly at the ceiling. He let out an exhausted sigh, the tiles on the ceiling seemed to swim a little in his drunken haze.

"As much as I love the idea of that, I'm not trying to make things worse, but man he just ticks me the hell off." He paused before tilting his head in Loki's direction to cast him a look. "I'm in love with this guy, but I'm also fucking pissed and it hurts, it really fucking hurts." 

Loki moved closer, pulling the brunette into his arms, a thing that had become a much more regular show of affection. "If I can offer my services at all… I may have an idea how to help you with this emotional teething you're going through."

"Services…" Tony gave his friend an odd look.

“Well, by now you must’ve at least read a little bit about the unique skills of green dragons…?” Loki hummed softly, glancing at Hela for a moment. In the blink of an eye where Loki had been previously, Stephen appeared, wearing robes that were unfamiliar to Tony, showing off the man’s biceps and wrapping tightly across his chest to emphasize the defined muscles.

Tony took a long moment looking him over, a mix of confusion and appreciation welling inside him. “... what’s this?”

“What’s it look like?” Even Stephen’s deep baritone responded to his question. Tony was honestly too drunk to make sense of it overall, despite that, it felt like the answer was on the tip of his tongue.

Tony looked down at the arms around his midsection. If his cheeks weren't red from the alcohol they were now flushed from Loki's little 'magic trick'.

"I feel like I'm playing with fire here… I..." He took in a deep breath, his gaze looking up to Loki's face where he was regarded with a mischievous grin from the other man.

It was Stephen, all of him appeared to be the same as the Sanctum leader and Tony was entirely too conflicted about this, though he was easily leaning into the direction of curiosity.

Tony was weak, and the more he looked into those eyes that matched Stephen's, and that smile - he'd never seen Stephen smile like that for him, and it made his heart flutter regardless of knowing it was merely an illusion from the power of the green rider and his drake.

He didn't pull away, rather he pressed in against Loki.

“There are worse things for a dragon rider to do than play with fire, I should think…” ‘Stephen’ purred lowly, tilting his head slightly as he pulled Tony in tighter against him and ran a hand over his back. “So tell me… do you want this?”

The other’s head lowered to faintly brush lips over Tony’s neck as though testing the waters, holding and waiting. Tony felt the rough bristles of a beard against his skin and tip of the other’s nose following the playful path down his neck. “Do you want me?”

Tony shuddered, the swell of his throat bobbed as those lips continued to suckle on the soft spot of his neck. His hands were on the other man's shoulders and his eyes closed as he let himself be mentally and physically devoured by this fantasy. His breath hitched and he let out a long exhale, responding.

"I do, I want this so badly..." he whimpered softly, finally reciprocating as his arms wrapped around 'Stephen's' neck.

“Good,” the other responded softly, teeth lightly grazing Tony’s neck before he pulled away enough to guide the other into his lap properly. “Then you can have me. All I have to give…” ‘Stephen’ murmured, curling his hand in Tony’s and pressing a gentle kiss to the back of it. With that, he pressed a couple of kisses along his jaw with a pleased hum.

Tony had an incredulous look on his face as his hand stung with the sensations of that lingering kiss. He swallowed once again and felt a distinct pulsating in his groin that was impossible to ignore.

"You really want to go through with his, huh?" The question should have honestly been directed at himself but Tony straddled 'Stephen's waist and reached for his tunic, pulling it down over his shoulders and pressing his mouth to the man's collarbone.

He began to suckle at the other man's skin, tasting this 'forbidden' fruit he'd only had the opportunity to fantasize about. His hips rolled into the man's chest and there was no questioning that Tony was beyond aroused.

“Should I have a reason not to?” ‘Stephen’ inquired as he ran a hand into Tony’s hair, letting his other hand curl around Tony to rest on his lower back, fingers dipping just barely lower over the top of his ass as he tilted his head back to offer better access. “Do you think, for some reason, that I don’t want you…?”

"Maybe..." He heaved in a lust-laden voice, but in the presence even of Loki who took on the appearance of Stephen, he was burdened by the supposed projections of rejection which made him seriously question if the moment was truly 'right'.

Tony leaned down and wrapped his arms around the other man's torso fully, burying his head in 'Stephen's' neck as he bit at the skin, eliciting a soft moan from the man.

"I really want this, so badly..." He whispered through a hot breath on the other man's neck with a wanton whimper, hands ghosting over his skin to molest the illusion within his grasp.

“So do I,” the other responded, rocking his hips up against Tony’s ass and making it rather clear that he was similarly aroused and interested. “I want you…” ‘Stephen’ added softly, letting his fingers slowly slip into Tony’s robes to start freeing him of them, running his hands over steadily exposed planes of tanned flesh and helping himself to a handful of Tony’s ass as he ground up against him slowly.

The heat of arousal shot through him with those bumps from 'Stephen', coursing up his middle and turning his mind to a hazy mush more powerful than any alcohol. Tony gasped softly and canted his head, he was half exposed and he crawled back so he was positioned between the other man's legs as he removed his pants, taking a moment to smooth his hand over 'Stephen's' belly, looking down at him.

The other peered back up at him with a lustful grin, and it just… didn't feel right, no matter how much he wanted this, no matter how much he yearned for Stephen. He knew it wasn't him.

He paused for a moment, hanging his head.

“Oh I know that look,” ‘Stephen’ gave a slight t’sking noise at that, tugging him in close again. “You don’t need to overthink this… but if you’ve changed your mind, I’ll understand…” he hummed softly, running a hand into Tony’s hair and openly admiring him.

"I'm sorry... Loki, I just can't, not like this." He sounded so defeated. A man who'd had a goal within his reach only to have it snatched away at the very last moment. This simply wasn't right, it was desperation and as much as he loved Stephen he couldn't very well settle for anything less than the man himself.

He leaned down and wrapped his arms around Loki, burying his face in his neck. "Change back… please."

Two arms circled around his waist as Loki, once again clearly himself, held Tony tightly against his chest, nuzzling Tony’s hair gently. “Hey… it’s okay. I mean, I won’t pretend I wasn’t excited as hell about this, but the last thing I wanna do is make you sad. That’s not the point of it. So… want another drink? Or are you feeling more like cuddles and sleep? Or I… can get out of your hair if you’d rather. That’s fine too. Just let me know what you need, okay?”

The brunette shivered a bit, he held tight to the man beneath him. "Stay, I've had enough to drink for the night." He squeezed Loki's midsection, exhausted and wanting nothing more than to fall asleep on the man beneath him.

“Shall we at least take this to the bed? This isn’t going to be a comfortable way to sleep,” Loki chuckled softly, hugging him close for a moment. “You know things will work out in the end, right…? Whether it’s with Stephen or not, eventually _ you’ll find someone _.”

Tony rose softly, pulling Loki up with an extended hand.

"Yeah, but that doesn't stop everything from sucking right now. And everything does suck." He sighed and tugged the other man over to the bed with him, falling down on the top of the sheets with a loud groan and taking Loki with him.

Loki gave a soft laugh at that as he readjusted in the bed, wrapping an arm around Tony’s waist and cuddling in with a sigh. “Hmmm… do you want some Stephen stories to fall asleep with? I have a couple. Some funny. Some sexy. Maybe they’ll inspire some good dreams, and tomorrow you’ll be ready to chat with that big idiot?”

Tony let out an amused snort, he pressed his forehead in against Loki's collarbone and let out a sigh. "I'm sure those would qualify as proper bedtime story material," he murmured, voice soft as he closed his eyes to focus on Loki's words.

"Hmm, well, let's see... once upon a time when our dragons were still considerably smaller... Stephen decided he was feeling adventurous," Loki started. "And regardless of how it might look now, Stephen was always fairly adventurous when he was younger, but even for Stephen this was pretty ballsy..." he chuckled to himself at that. "He came and asked me for some help getting him all tied up, had a bunch of straps and couldn't do them up himself. And I had no idea what he was up to at first, but anyway! I get him tied up, fastened to this bar... and you'll never guess who joins us."

"Wait… you’re not going to say what I think you are...?" Tony trailed off.

"Mmhmm!" Loki nodded. "Levi came in, pre-adolescent, and he fucked Stephen into the ground. Levi and I asked Stephen if he was positive that he wanted to do this… and he went through with it! He's a kinky fucker." Loki grinned, his hand slowly smoothing over Tony's back.

"You know, I kind of don't believe you..." Tony looked up at him with a small smirk.

"Tony, I'm hurt that you don't trust me! But, I do have evidence… if you'd like to see, I’ve never let him live it down." Loki pulled out his phone with a wide grin, and Tony didn't know whether to believe him or not, but he leaned over Loki's shoulder to see as the man flicked through some photos on his phone. It took a few minutes of searching to find it - a testament to how long ago it was - before Loki handed the phone to Tony. 

"You can scroll through, there are a few images there but... yep. It's quite a sight, isn't it?" Loki hummed cheerfully, continuing to grin widely at Tony watching the gold rider's face as the man flipped through the various pictures of the rider very much taking his turn being the mount. The red dragon's wings flared here and there in the pictures, with Stephen's position having been clearly readjusted more than once. There was no doubting that Loki had gotten up close and personal with a couple of the shots, gleefully resting a hand on his belly to show the expansion of Stephen's stomach more pointedly.

Tony was staring at the images, having a hard time believing this actually happened. This was beyond lewd, he had to cover his mouth as he felt his stomach drop and the twitch in his groin as his face once again turned cherry red.

"I... Do you think you could send these to me? _ I hope _ I don't need to explain why..." Tony trailed off, going back through the photos once more. "I wouldn't use them as blackmail… just, for my own purposes..." He seemed a bit sheepish as he looked up to Loki with a hopeful but shy look.

"Ooohhh how am I supposed to deny you anything when you look at me like that?" Loki sighed heavily, rolling his eyes a bit before snatching the phone back from the other man and attaching the several images to texts to send to the gold rider. "Use lots of lube," he reminded the other with a slight smirk. "And you better not forget this. Loki gives the best bedtime stories."

Tony had felt a bit shy about asking for them, he felt dirty, improper - but hey - he was human, and he was also a man. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and his stomach dropped in his chest as he let out a gentle sigh.

"Thanks, Loki, I won't..." The brunette assured softly, head buried in his best friend's neck as his arms tightened around the raven-haired man's midsection.

“Good. Shall I tell you less engaging stories now, to help you sleep?” Loki chuckled softly and bundled the smaller man against him.

"Yeah that would be great, I'd love to hear about the stuff you guys used to get up to before the whole Tilly situation… you know when you guys were still friends."

“Stephen was a Sanctum baby in every sense of the word,” Loki started to explain quietly, petting Tony’s hair and laying back onto the bed comfortably. “He was conceived during a mating flight and his parents… well, they hated each other, and a lot worse after the flight. So Stephen was raised by the Sanctum as a whole, and while he got in trouble constantly, it was so easy for him to get away with things by saying someone or another said he could…”

Tony drifted off with his friend’s low voice in his ears, and the quiet stories of Stephen getting up to various inane antics, and after not imprinting on a dragon after two tries declaring he was going to leave the Sanctum and become a doctor - for all the good that did him.

When the morning rolled around, Tony awoke curled up mostly on Loki’s chest with the raven-haired man snoring softly in his space. He was groggy and had a bit of a headache, finding him cursing his drunk self for not having water before he went to bed, as he slowly untangled himself from the sleeping green rider and shuffling out of bed.

Tony managed to free himself from Loki and slide out of bed, slowly going over to fetch the two of them a glass of water. He downed his first and then refilled it before coming back over to set the glass down next to the bed for when his companion awoke.

He'd slept in. Thankfully it wasn't noon yet but he still felt like the entire day had been wasted away. He hobbled over to the kitchen to grab himself a nibble before Friday had spoken up.

<_ Tony… Stephen wants to know if you have a moment, what should I have Levi tell him? _> Friday bellowed softly.

<_ Ugh, now really isn't the time but then again... when is it ever? _> Tony took a seat on the couch and sighed, waiting inevitably for the other leader to show up.

It was still a good ten minutes before a soft but succinct knocking echoed on his door, and Tony beckoned the other man in, watching as Stephen stepped through the door and closed it again quietly behind him before shuffling in his spot slightly and making his way over. The man didn’t sit right away, hoving in his spot with an odd uncertainty before Tony sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

“You might as well sit,” he gestured, and Stephen took up precisely the chair Tony had gestured to, tucking his hands between his knees and staring at the floor.

“I’m sorry.” The first words out of his mouth were somewhat surprising. Not even a good morning, or a how are you, but straight into an apology. On closer examination, the man looked exhausted, with dark rings under his eyes barely hidden by concealer and a slight wavering to his form.

“Good morning to you, too.”

Stephen glanced up briefly at that, looking particularly uncertain at that. “I… good morning. I’m sorry, I… that was… rude of me. I just thought maybe I should get to the point, and let you get on with your day. I didn’t… want to take up too much of your time.”

Tony frowned, if this was all Stephen came to say then he was pretty underwhelmed by this type of apology considering the things he'd put Tony through deserved him more than just a single word.

A silence filled the room and Tony was inclined to prod further into Stephen's admission given that it almost seemed ambiguous what the apology was even for and if the other man even understood what Tony had been upset about.

"Is that it then?" Tony ran a hand through his hair. "Do you even realize what you're apologizing for, Stephen, do you know why I'm upset?" He looked across to Stephen with a hard stare, he could tell the man was really on the spot right now.

Stephen stared at the floor again rather pointedly, his hands fidgeting between his knees. “I shouldn’t have put words into your mouth or made assumptions about how you think or feel about me. I was dismissive, and I shouldn’t have been. In the process, I seem to have led you to believe that I don’t have feelings for you and… that’s not true. I just… I don’t cope with…” 

He paused and a hand ran into his hair. “I don’t know how to manage these feelings. I haven’t dealt with them before. Not like this. I was afraid, and I clearly handled things… the wrong way. I am deeply sorry for that. I didn’t mean to hurt you, I just… I hoped you’d take the time to think it through. I hoped… I’d have time to make sense of it. Because I could understand you hating me… but you having… other feelings for me… still doesn’t exactly make sense to me. Not that I need to understand it for it to be real it’s just… I don’t get it.”

Tony leaned forward and pressed his hands into his face. He was still waking up and to process his body actually starting up and now all these emotions and feelings Stephen was dredging up didn't exactly make it easy.

He sat there, head in his hands before he lifted it to look at Stephen with that same hard look on his face.

"This is all a little overwhelming. You've never once considered how I felt Stephen, through all of this. I just can't fathom what your angle on all of this is since you didn't have a shred of empathy when we spoke about this. You just dismissed me like you were too big for this, even if the feelings weren't mutual. I was a mess after that, you have no idea." He groaned, his own exhaustion from the night before laden on his features as he tried to keep the anger and frustration out of his voice.

<_ Go easy on him Tony, he's trying, _> Friday bellowed softly.

“I’m sorry,” Stephen stated again softly as he got to his feet. “You’re right. I shouldn’t… waste any more of your time with this. I just wanted to apologize and… see if you were okay. I suppose it’s not my place for that so I’ll stay out of your hair and if you need me then… you know where to find me.”

As a Sanctum leader Tony should have stopped him from leaving, could have probably put on a face to cover everything up for Stephen's sake. But as a person going through some emotional hardships and dealing with a one-on-one problem, he couldn't put on any more masks, not for this.

He couldn't say anything more, nothing that wouldn't either spur the other to stay or put the other in a worse mood. Tony was all over the place with his emotions at the moment, he was literally chasing a night of drinking with an emotional cocktail brewing in his chest and he would have rathered not show any more of his vulnerability to Stephen after what he'd been put through.

He merely let Stephen walk, watching him as he exited the apartment without another glance over his shoulder.

Despite not saying anything awful to him, and not even acting out like he could have foreseen himself doing, he couldn't help but once again feel like he did something wrong despite this not even being his problem.

_ Empathy. _

What he'd failed to even show Stephen after demanding it himself, and he tried to justify internally how he was a completely innocent party here.

Loki plodded out of the bedroom seeing Tony crumpled over on the couch. "Bad morning or Stephen came by - one of the above?" he mumbled quietly, coming over to put a hand on Tony's shoulder which only drew a sigh out of him.

"I just don't know anymore with him, honestly..."

“It’s not like you have to put up with him if you don’t want to…” Loki hummed thoughtfully, “but then, I already know well enough that you definitely want to. Wanna tell me what the idiot did this time? Or shall we get some coffee and have breakfast before we do the thinking thing?”

"Coffee first," he groaned softly and he felt the reassuring squeeze on his shoulders followed by a gentle tap as Loki coaxed him off of the couch and over to the kitchen table of the apartment.

Friday watched wordlessly, she offered no further words knowing exactly what her rider felt and Tony understood that. She offered him peace of mind and a word or two when he needed it, she called him out when he was being rough but at the moment it felt like she was leaving all of this to his own discretion, having said her part.

There was a silence between them as Loki stacked the mugs on the tablet, coffee brewed in a matter of minutes and he was pouring each of them a mug before he sat down and pulled his own mug closer to him as he waited for Tony to talk.

"Well...?"

"He came to apologize… and I didn't say anything, I didn't know how to respond to it..."

“Well, I suppose that’s fair. You don’t have to accept every apology someone makes, and I can only imagine the apology left plenty to be desired,” Loki gave a long-suffering sigh at that, sipping at the coffee and shaking his head. “Honestly I don’t know what to do with that man. Regardless, take your time. I don’t expect he’s going to learn anything from all of this if some half-assed apology is all it takes to earn your forgiveness.”

"I'm at a crossroads with myself. I'm in love with him, but he's a jackass that has no concept of human emotion, and it seems even the smallest inkling of common sense when it comes to human emotion is just, well, not common with him." Tony fingered the mug. "I really have to think about this… I don't know how I feel about it all really."

“Take your time, as I said. There are reasons I was concerned about your idea of pursuing a relationship with him… and for someone who acts like that, a romantic relationship that you’re comfortable with is going to be a pain in the ass. It’s really worth considering whether that’s the best choice for you,” Loki shrugged a shoulder as he continued to work on his coffee, shaking his head. “It’s not like he’s going anywhere. For the next five years you two are partners in caring for this Sanctum, or until Friday rises again. You have time to figure things out.”

"Yeah, hopefully, this doesn't end up stretching into some drawn out rivalry like it always felt like it had been in the past. I just need time..." Tony sighed into his mug, words muffled as he siphoned the liquid from the rim of the cup and set it back down, finding simple comfort in the warmth that radiated through the porcelain mug.

* * *

Stephen would have been happy to spend more time wallowing in his state regarding his less than stellar relationship with Tony. He would have been happy to sink into his bed and angst the way only teenagers really knew how to angst.

Instead, he had responsibilities - blessed distractions to drag him away from his funk, leaving him to saddle up Levi as something peculiar had been spotted just off the coast. Firestones were loaded into the saddlebag just in case and the pair armoured up before taking to the air with a wing following behind to either side of them. Eleven dragons in total rose into the air as Howler sent the imagery of where they were off to directly to Levi, and the riders made ready to do their jobs.

On command, the group disappeared in a blink, and something crept deep into Stephen’s chest as they did - a horror he hadn’t experienced in a blink since the first time he’d done so. Something was there, in the darkness, in the void and emptiness. Something that stared back at him with eyes larger than anything he’d ever seen, large enough that at first, he’d mistaken them for something else.

But he’d never experienced colour in a blink. He’d never seen objects. He couldn’t even feel Levi below him when they blinked - so what was this?

When they emerged from the blink, the gathering had scattered, with dragons in a slight panic and skittering this way and that as though hunting for whatever had caused it. Levi remained distressingly silent as each wing’s leader gathered their wing up again.

“Is anyone injured?” Stephen called over to Steve, who shook his head at first before frowning.

“Bucky’s prosthetic arm appears to be missing, and Winter’s flank was grazed by something that cut through his scales… Sam is going to accompany them back for treatment.”

“Don’t blink back. If he was injured in it then-”

“Of course they’re not going to blink back. Don’t worry. They’re about three hours out but Winter can fly, it just seems to be paining him in a big way and Bucky’s a little off-balance. They’ll let us know when they’ve returned. What was that?”

“... I don’t know, but it may be related to _ that _...” Stephen pointed downwards to the bruise-like colour that was showing just beneath the waves. “There’s something down there.”

“... that was in the sky earlier, Stephen… and a hell of a lot smaller than that.”

“... Dragonfire is only going to do so much from this height, and it’s hard to say how deep or how large that thing really is from here,” Stephen muttered to himself, and Levi gave a discontented grumble of his own.

<_ I don’t like it, Stephen. It’s not… supposed to be here. _>

Before any further action was taken, Stephen retrieved one of the firestones from his bags, giving it to Levi as the rest of the wing began to assume formation to get closer.

The wings began their descent upon instruction and the dragons rode the air currents downwards until they encircled the space the swell was occupying underneath the water. 

It looked like an oil spill beneath the water, but dark and purple with vibrant cyan veins of lightning streaking through. A storm cloud in the sea, turbulent in appearance and the riders could clearly see the crackling monsoon beneath the waves.

None of it made any sense whatsoever, and it was beyond Stephen what this could possibly be.

It was as if whatever dark swell was beneath the water had picked the opportune time to strike as it soon spewed forth a geyser of miasma straight into the air causing the wing to scatter back. The darkness swelled and expanded, shooting out in all directions as it formed something that began to move beneath the waves.

Levi had to veer to the side to avoid it as a dark purple plume of smoke spread like a growing storm cloud around them, thickening the air and starting to cut off their visuals at an alarming rate. 

Dark purple tendrils rose from the sea like the arms of a kraken and Stephen's face almost went pale as he was overcome with the same ice-cold, heart-stopping sensation he'd experienced in the blink. It was a dread that spread through him and every other one of the riders, only their dragons having the courage to maneuver from now striking appendages that made attempts to grapple the dragons.

The four greens dove and spun around sections easily enough, but Hogunn’s brown was considerably less mobile as his dragon twisted in place breathing the blue flames of dragonfire at the creature in a hefty stream before giving a short scream of pain and trying to dodge away. Another of the greens yowled in pain and her flames were cut off as something brushed along her belly and left her in a panicked retreat.

The air burned at their lungs, both human and dragons alike, stung at their eyes and began to dissolve their armour. If they weren't already retreating away from the amalgamation - they were now.

"We need to go,** now!**" Stephen yelled and Levi bellowed the dragons retreat as they began to fly away from the spreading clouds of miasma which burned at their throats.

Levi was clear about his desire to leave, but he, Mjolnir and Howler formed a defensive line of flames to protect the injured and retreating wing. Stephen’s skin felt like it was enduring some form of a chemical burn, and while the being seemed to flinch back away from the flames it was much too large for the three dragons alone to do much damage to it.

Once the rest of the wings were mostly clear, having made it all the way to shore at least, a good couple of miles off, the reds began their own retreat, with Levi reaching out to warn Friday of the inbound injured and to keep the Sanctum dragons from blinking at all costs. Individually the dragons would cease one at a time while the others maintained their line of flames when more firestone was required but eventually, the three simply began to turn to leave, reasonably certain they’d left enough space that the tendrils were out of reach.

<_ What is that thing? _> Stephen inquired of his dragon in the hopes the other had a more innate sense than he did of it.

<_ A bad thing, _> his dragon responded not the least bit sarcastic. He sounded clearly spooked.

<_ We need to make sure that the government is made aware and to adapt our armour some to make certain we’re prepared to fend it off. If it was in the sky this morning and is that big now, then I don’t know that we have much time to- _>

His thoughts were cut short as something grasped Levi’s tail, and they went into an awkward tailspin with Levi’s pained roar ripping through his mind and body in the process. The world seemed to spin around them both and he was only vaguely aware of the flames around them for a moment before Levi began to simply drop. 

He wasn’t sure which red he saw first, but Howler and Mjolnir came up to either side of him to clutch at Levi, carrying him out of there to the best of their capabilities as Stephen’s hands ran over the red’s scales, trying to get his bearings, but moreover… trying to get the dragon to respond.

<_ Levi? Levi, answer me… come on old friend, don’t do this… _>

Levi wasn’t dead. He knew he wasn’t dead. But there was something in the pit of his stomach that told him something was very, _ very _ wrong with his dragon.

And they had a long flight home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for some descriptions of injury that may be uncomfortable for some readers! Please be advised!

Bucky and Bruce had been the first to arrive and Tony made sure they were immediately looked after, but after getting word from Howler there was a sense of dread. It wasn't simply the word from the drake mentioning that there were several wounded, but that both Levi and Stephen might be in the same situation as well.

It was three long hours of waiting, three long hours of dreading with all the doctors and nurses anxious, wondering what they could possibly be dealing with as multiple calls from the wing had come into their sister and brother dragons in the Sanctum. Friday had lost contact with Levi and that terrified her despite still able to speak with Howler and Mjolnir.

Steve, Thor... and Stephen. 

He didn't know what he'd do with himself if something happened to them, especially to Stephen after the two of them were left at odds before they went on their scouting mission. This whole thing was bigger than his ego, bigger than some stupid fight and any reservations were far dropped from his mind.

Soon enough there were specks in the sky, dragons inbound from the direction of the coast. Riders and dragons having burns and abrasions ranging from not so serious to very concerning. 

As the wing came in, the reds that were still in the Sanctum helped to carry down the wounded and help their kin land. Doctors and nurses were called in for duty from their on-calls and the medical bay was fully staffed by the time the riders began to land one by one.

Friday was circling on the bay platform hysterically, looking anxious and restless. Levi hadn't been responding to her calls and this brought a horrible sinking feeling with it. They couldn't both panic. One of them had to keep it together and despite the growing dread that gripped him, Tony had to remain cool and try to keep everyone calm, especially Friday.

Finally the last of the wing came into view and Tony could make out what looked to be Steve, Thor and Stephen, Mjolnir and Howler carrying Levi's motionless form, the scales around his tail a concerning purple colour, some of the scales having melted right off and Stephen appearing to be dishevelled with red rashes covering his exposed skin.

Their tunics had been eaten away in some parts leaving holes and weakened fabric, Steve and Thor both had grave look upon their features but Stephen looked terrified beyond words.

Friday leapt into the air with a pained howl and she immediately helped the exhausted drakes bring Levi down and carry him into the ward. Tony followed with a determined look, joining them without a moment's hesitation.

Stephen had no means of moving nearly as fast as the dragons once he’d been let down, in obvious pain but allowed Thor to simply pick him up to carry him into the infirmary as he gave a soft, distressed noise at the distance he was being kept from his dragon. The large blond man carrying him wasn’t slow in his movements, his face uncharacteristically stern as he ignored his own lesser injuries to get Stephen onto a gurney and nearer to his dragon before the man decided to panic.

“What happened?” Christine asked of the agitated leader even as Stephen reached out a hand to gently rest it against an uninjured spot on Levi’s hide, before rolling his head a little to look at the gathering of people, nurses and Sanctum staff alike.

“... I don’t know,” he whispered, his voice sounding raw and possibly damaged. “I’m trying to figure it out, I promise, I just… I can’t think straight right now. Whatever it was… it was familiar but… not familiar…”

“Stephen, I need to know what it was if I’m going to help them properly. I tried to clean up one of the other greens and the residue ate through my utensils like some kind of acid I’ve never seen before. I need something to work with here…”

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry. I don’t… I’ll…” His hands came up as though to rub at his face and Christine’s gloved hands pulled them away.

“Don’t do that. If you get any of what’s on your skin into your eyes god knows what will happen. I want you in a bath, okay? I need you to clean up. I’ll do my best to take care of Levi, I promise, but I need you to be well, too.”

Stephen gave a pitiful whine at that, looking to Levi and then the humans in the room and nodding.

“Do you think you can get there on your own, or do you need help?”

“... I can’t… move very well right now,” Stephen admitted and with the way his robes seemed to be cut and melted, almost fused with his skin in some places, it wasn’t hard to see why.

Friday immediately sat down next to Levi, in a panic. She knew better than to get in the way but she stayed within reach so she could sit with her head pressed against Levi's snout. 

Tony walked over immediately approaching Christine and offering his assistance. He was relieved to see Stephen in one piece, but that didn't quell his overall concern when he saw the state Levi was in. He loved the dragon and even if he didn't the beast was just as tied to his master as Stephen was to him.

He felt fear and panic begin to well in his chest, almost stopping him in his tracks, but he shook it off and tried to hold himself and the situation together.

"Christine, let me help you with that, I'll escort Stephen so you can help out with Levi." 

The doctor nodded, there weren't enough hands in the ward for something like this without having to call in external assistance, but she handed Tony what seemed to be some sort of burn salve, working under the assumption that whatever was corroding the scales must have needed to be neutralized.

It was honestly anyone’s guess.

"Sure, take him and help him get cleaned up, he needs to get out of those clothes and wash off whatever is irritating his skin." 

Tony nodded and before Stephen could make any sort of protest he hooked an arm under the other man and curled it around his waist for support. He hauled him off towards the washroom, making sure to support most of his weight, almost carrying him with the assist.

“Did… you call SHIELD? The government? Are people working on isolating the area?” Stephen at least managed to redirect his concerns as he allowed Tony to get him to the baths, helping to steadily peel the man out of the oddly melted fabric. “I can’t in good conscience send out the rest of the wings without properly clothing and equipping the dragons and their riders… It would just be sending them all to their deaths. The dragons will panic - this… it needs to be taken care of and I… it’s so hard to think right now…”

The man gave a low hiss as Tony gently tugged the cloth out of the blistering sores they’d seemed to fuse into, and Tony couldn’t help but wince at that. “The others didn’t come back nearly this bad, what were you doing?”

“It got… close,” Stephen whimpered, trying to remain still as Tony got the last of his top off before helping with his boots and pants. “This thing was massive. Dwarfed the three reds easily. Just… impossibly large. We tried to give the smaller dragons time to escape, thought we’d gotten enough space and then… it grabbed Levi by the tail. Everything felt like it was burning, and breathing was just… agony… I can taste blood, and… god I’m so scared…”

Tony couldn’t even appreciate the sight of the man fully naked at this point, his skin red and agitated, blistering here and there in various spots even as he eased him into the water and grabbed a washcloth.

It was as if Tony's mind had switched to a different mode, he was too busy to concern himself with the nitty-gritty details and drawbacks of the situation when he was more concerned about making sure Stephen was taken care of to the best of his abilities. 

There were points where he needed to take scissors to cut away the fabric before slowly working it off by adding water to the blood-congealed fabric.

"We need to handle things one step at a time, none of us are in any condition to warn the government about anything, we don't know what we are dealing with at the moment and sending people in without any knowledge will only put more in danger. We need to step back and assess the situation, and most of all you need to calm down and gather yourself," Tony instructed thoroughly leaving nothing open to debate, though his voice still relatively nurturing.

He took the cloth and rinsed the wounds as he spoke, first letting the water slide over the open sores before lightly dabbing at them.

"I'm going to get you cleaned up, and then we're going to get this ointment on you to help with your skin, alright?" 

He took the showerhead and began to rinse off Stephen's shoulders, working his way down, using his hands to knead into his hair to make sure there was no residue there either.

“If we don’t warn the government then they can’t create a quarantined zone. If there’s no quarantine zone, boats and innocent people could be put at risk. These are basic guidelines…” Stephen hissed a bit, squeezing his eyes shut. “Steve… knows the approximate area to be cordoned off. We need time to figure this thing out…”

Stephen was wet and bleeding, trembling in his spot and not because of the water temperature. His eyes kept darting towards the doorway and Tony could sympathize intimately with Stephen’s fear. Despite trying to stay focused, he was concerned about Levi. He was scared for his dragon - for his friend.

“We aren’t sending them in to fight, we’re sending them in to keep others out… until we’re able to deal with the problem. Because that’s our job.”

"I'll have Steve put the call through now then." Tony murmured softly, pushing strands of Stephen's hair aside to make sure there was no more residue on him, handing him the cloth.

"I'll leave you to do your legs, I'll be back in a moment." Tony stood up and Stephen gave him a terrified look, the expression on his face indicating he wanted him to stay. "I'll be right back, no more than a few minutes." He reassured, and it took him no more than a couple to relay the message and have the alert sent through with Steve.

He took his spot and began to flush more water off Stephen's shoulders until he'd deemed the man completely clear of the lingering residue. He had Stephen stand and handed the man a towel, dressing and guiding him over to his hospital bed, back to where Levi was - where he knew Stephen wanted to be and sat him down, pulling out the salve. 

"Stephen, Levi is going to be fine, he'll get better," the brunette attempted to offer some peace of mind but there was only so much his words could do, remembering how he was when Friday had gotten injured.

“... and what if he isn’t…?” Stephen asked quietly. “What if… he doesn’t make it? I don’t… want to be like Tilly…” The man curled up in his spot on the bed, being tugged out of his ball by Christine as she laid him out on his stomach to take a look at the burns, rashes and blisters along his back.

“Stephen we’ll do our best for Levi, okay? You know we will. As Tony said, he’ll be fine…”

“That substance is eating through his scales! He inhaled a lot more of that than I did and my lungs hurt - how can you be sure he’ll--”

“If you start freaking out, Stephen, I swear I will sedate you. And you’re a lot more used to us conscious and lucid right now, so I really need you to calm down…” Christine began to bandage his wounds and shook her head. It took her less than two minutes before she moved along. “Try to stay put, Stephen. Please.”

The other man simply reached out to touch Levi again the small gesture heartbreakingly sad. It looked like he was saying goodbye.

"Levi's not going to die, Stephen, neither of us can afford to have that happen, so it won't. Everyone here needs you, I need you, Friday needs you and likewise, we need Levi all the same. He's going to be fine." Tony brushed the salve over the uncovered wounds, nodding to Christine as she wrapped them up as he finished.

< _ He's having a hard time breathing, he's in a lot of pain but he's holding out, _ > Friday whimpered softly, bumping her snout up against Levi, having moved in against his good side now that the red had been treated.

< _ Thanks Fri, keep me updated on him, I want to know if anything changes for the better or worse. _ >

< _ Of course, Tony... _ >

Tony nodded and softly placed a hand on Stephen's shoulder, trying to calm him down with a reassuring squeeze. He would have taken the chance to offer more comfort but having Stephen laying down was optimal and he didn't want to disrupt that.

“I just… want him awake again… I want him to be okay…” Stephen tucked his hands against his chest under him but continued to watch as the red dragon remained unconscious. “If he doesn’t… what do I do…? I’ve always been so careful with him… I always knew how to take care of him, I did my best… I don’t want to lose him… but if he goes… I don’t want to be like Tilly is, Tony… I don’t want to be some empty shell.”

Tony was just as afraid as Stephen was, the only solace he found was in reassuring Stephen that everything would be alright. His palm continued to sooth circles on the man's shoulder, continually trying to calm him down.

"This was beyond your control, but he's going to be fine. I don't want you turning into an empty shell any more than you do," his voice continued to remain gentle. "He just needs rest now, he will be with us, Friday and I will make sure he's taken care of. Neither of us is going anywhere."

“You have other duties you need to attend to… when I’m… when I can move again properly, I’ll take care of things, but until I do… it’s up to you to make sure that things are being dealt with properly. That the wings are preparing themselves, that we’re well-stocked on firestone - dragonfire seemed to work well enough, but not in small quantities. We needed… more. We need more durable armour. The dragons need something to protect them. We need to figure out what this thing is… I’m sorry that that’s on you right now…” Stephen looked at him with furrowed brows.

“I’m truly sorry for that, because selfishly… I wish I could keep you here in case… Levi doesn’t recover. I wish someone… could stay. Someone I care about. But this is about a lot more than me, so… when Christine lets me out of here I’ll get a ride to the library. I’ll check the books, check logs for what this thing is. I… I’ve never seen anything during a blink before, but there was something there, Tony…”

“I know… I saw it to, in the blink before Friday was injured. We’ll find out what it is, or at least find a way to prepare with dealing with it.”

Stephen had a point, now that he was out of the picture temporarily all of those responsibilities and more fell on him, especially given the crisis. He wanted to be there for him just as much as Stephen wanted the company but wants and needs weren't necessarily the same things.

"I'll be back, any time I can, I also have the other riders to aid me as well." 

He was able to stay with Stephen for an hour longer before called away to deal with the rest of the Sanctum’s orders of business. Given they were dealing with a crisis he needed to tend to everyone, not just Stephen.

Tony made sure Stephen had company even when he couldn't be there himself, leaving Friday there in his stead, just like Levi had done when she was injured. He'd relied on the help of the other riders, especially Loki when he needed to travel and by the end of the day, he was exhausted.

He'd stopped by his apartment temporarily to grab a change of clothes but his evening and night were spent in Stephen's hospital room. Regardless of if the man had gotten better, he wouldn't be leaving his dragon's side and Tony would give him any ounce of free time he had available despite how taxing it was.

He came in with a thermos and a couple of the ward’s plastic mugs, pouring the two of them some tea as he brought a few other snacks and a blanket as he took up the chair beside Stephen's bed just as he'd done earlier today.

"How are you feeling?" Friday hadn't alerted him to any changes other than Levi's pain starting to fade slightly, which was good news despite it being a small change.

“He hasn’t woken up,” Stephen responded, his eyes fixed on his dragon for a few more moments before glancing at the tea and curling his hands around it. He sat on the cot beside Levi with his bare feet hanging over the edge, his shoulders slumped making him look much smaller than Tony knew him to be.

“They haven’t given him any sedatives… Christine says she wants to hear from him what hurts and where before she takes any further action. But he’s not well… and he hasn’t woken.” The man’s nose rested on the edge of the cup, taking a few deep breaths as though they’d help him settle down some, but let out a shuddering breath after.

“You can see now… properly… where the thing caught his tail. They were able to clean it up a bit. It keeps oozing blood,” the man gestured to the spots of green along the unscaled part of Levi’s tail before dropping his eyes again and looking ashamed. “I can’t do anything for him. I can’t help him. I know he must be in a lot of pain but there’s… nothing I can do for him. 

“I can’t help the others, either I just… we’ve talked some. We all saw it, whatever it was in the darkness when we blinked. Winter was the only one who was touched by it and described it as though it was so cold it burned. Bucky said he removed his prosthetic itself because it became so cold it was agonizing for him… colder than anything he’d felt before. All I can do is try and think of if any of this sounds familiar and I can’t… remember anything like this. I remember reading once that the space between blinks is connected to another dimension - a dimension that had been purged eons ago in a war whose memories are lost to time. The dimension is nothingness, it’s absence, it has no concept of time or space… but there was something there. It was definitely there.”

"You do what you can do with what's within your power. You be strong so Levi can be strong and everyone else as well. I don't like this idea any more than you do but we have to work with what we've got and hope for the best, because if not then we're already done. The Sanctum needs you, Stephen, you can't give up - everyone else out there is just as terrified of losing you as you are, including me. If I panic though, who’s going to be here to guide and help everyone when it all falls to pieces?" Tony leaned forward.

"I'll help you do everything I can within my power, including figuring out what that is and making sure that Levi reaches a full recovery. Friday said he's doing just a little better than earlier now, I'd take that as a good sign." He reached out to lightly place his hand on Stephen's wrapping his fingers around the red leader’s.

Everything Tony was telling him was true but merely a front to his true feelings - how terrified he was of losing the man he loved and Friday's mate. He didn't want to imagine what the Sanctum would be like if Stephen turned into another Tilly - so he didn't.

Stephen glanced down at their hands and slowly turned his hand over to hold Tony’s loosely. “If you’re so convinced we’re gonna make it… you don’t have to be so nice to me, you know,” he murmured softly, cradling the tea in his other hand and finally taking a sip. “I’ve been less than great to you and you deserve a lot better than I gave. I’m sorry for that.”

"Maybe you have, and maybe I do. But that doesn't mean I need to shut you out either. I wouldn't treat you any lesser, and not just because I'm putting on a face for you either," Tony peered down at their hands and he brushed his thumb over the surface of Stephen's palm. "I meant what I said Stephen, and it's up to you if you want to believe or deny it."

“Which part of what you said? Because you said a lot of things, both accusing me of lacking empathy and of having an angle on expressing my feelings… which generally doesn’t make me feel like I should continue to express any such feelings.” Stephen withdrew his hand after another moment, wrapping it around the mug of tea and turning his gaze back to Levi. “If everything’s going to be alright… why are you suddenly feeling so forgiving?”

"I have feelings for you, Stephen, I told you before and despite what you said to me, nothing has changed. When I heard the wings were on their way back, injured - I was terrified, shaken to my core. More so when Friday lost connection with Levi." Tony let out a deep breath and put his hand back in his own lap.

“... why? If you think of me as unkind, dismissive and uncaring… why do you have feelings for me? I can pinpoint each and every thing about you that’s been plaguing my emotions relentlessly because you’re a good, kind, and intelligent person. When I made the assumption that you hated me, it came from a place of recognition - I lack the qualities of what makes someone… worthy of such affections. So I struggle to see or understand why you would, in any way, have any feelings beyond contempt or distaste for me.”

"Is this something that needs an explanation? That you need to justify for yourself to accept or work with it? You keep asking me why I have the feelings for you that I do. Maybe you're right, it really is the lingering bond, or maybe it's something more. I've seen you at your best Stephen, and I know the person you're capable of being - a tender, caring and kind-hearted individual to those you open yourself up to. But you're actively going out of your way to prove you're not, rather than trying to prove your best."

“I can explain most other things in my life. Not being able to explain something is… uncomfortable for me. But if you want me to simply accept it… I’ll do my best. We’ll see how much my acceptance matters in the end…” Stephen finally set his teacup down, leaning lightly against Tony as he observed Levi. 

“The only people I’ve ever loved have… end up like this…” the man gestured towards Levi half-heartedly. “Levi, Tilly… I don’t know how to take care of those who are important to me. I don’t know how to prioritize people over responsibilities. All I can do is try…”

Tony brought his arms around Stephen's shoulders. A hand pressed to the back of his head, tugging him to rest his head against his collarbone while the other knit into his hair. This was everything that Tony had been waiting for, it was just a shame the circumstances that brought upon it overall.

"In the end, it all boils down to how much it matters to you," his voice was soft. "I'm not going to give up, not on you and not on Levi. I need you, Stephen, the Sanctum needs you and I'm going to help you through this to the best of my ability."

“Mmmm, but you don’t need me,” Stephen murmured in response, burying his face against Tony’s chest. “You’re smart, you’re quick-witted and a problem-solver. You get things done, you see your goals, and you go for them. You’re independent without being isolated. I admire all of that in you. Even without me here… you’d be able to carry on. I believe that. 

“But,” he continued without so much as a break to let Tony get a word in edgewise, “I don’t want you to have to. I don’t want you to suffer all the responsibility of this place, without a chance for freedom and to enjoy the things that make you happy. I don’t want you to have to do things alone. So even if you may not need me… I hope you don’t entirely dislike having me around to help.”

Tony could have rolled his eyes at the continued self-denial, but Stephen was serious and he couldn't antagonize or even remotely poke fun at someone who was currently spilling his guts.

"Sometimes relationships are about finding a common goal together. I may appear to have all these things Stephen but a lot of it is just an act, a show I put on for people. I don't always have control over the situation, but I'm a good people-person, I'm a good actor and I improvise. You, you know exactly what you're doing, you look for answers right down to the core and you don't give up either," he murmured, having been soothing the man with gentle strokes over his head.

"We're in this together, we have to be. I need you on my side, and you should know that I'll be there on yours as well."

“I’m afraid I’m something of a one-act individual. I’m sure there are plenty of people who wish I was different than I am, that I was easier to deal with. Myself included at times. But I don’t know exactly what I’m doing - not when it comes to people. With technical things… with research, with planning, I can do those things. Those aren’t things that have to be handled differently from moment to moment, research is static in ways. People… are different. People don’t like when you hunt for answers. People like their secrets. And when it comes to you… I feel like I fuck up a lot.” Stephen tucked himself in against Tony, his fingers curling into Tony’s shirt tightly despite his trembling hands.

"Yeah, you really fucked up Stephen," he started, there was a soft hint of amusement lacing his voice. "But it's hardly anything in comparison to the multitudes of fuckups I've made, including taking the Sanctum's only gold before she was ready to fly long distances on an eight-hour trip," he started, hand soothing over his side.

"But anger was the last thing you expressed, and you understood that I knew what had happened. And believe me, I've had even more slipups than that - thankfully you haven't seen them," he chuckled softly, tracing circles on Stephen's shoulder.

"You only think I'm this perfect person because you've only seen the slipups I wasn't able to hide from you. When really, my entire life is a mess right now."

“There was no point in being angry. You were sad, scared and hurting. Adding to any of those things at such a volatile point by alienating you from a source of security wasn’t going to help… though I managed to do exactly that anyway,” Stephen sighed, wincing now and then at the touches to his back, but not bothering to move.

“I never expected you to be perfect, you know. I drove you hard, I know I did… but I did it because I believed in you. I believed you could do better, and be better. I knew you were smart enough to figure things out… even if the incentive had to be proving me wrong. I’m sorry that things are a mess now… and I don’t know if that’s something I can fix, but if Levi pulls through this… I’ll do my best to be the person you seem to think I am.”

"I accept your apology," the brunette soothed softly, there wasn't much more to follow other than a light squeeze to Stephen's arms and placing a gentle kiss to the top of his head.

"We'll make it through this, you'll make it through this. Levi is going to be fine - I know it." Tony couldn't help but let out an exhausted yawn as the day had been draining and he was running on empty at this point. 

Truth be told, he could have fallen asleep on Stephen at any moment now with how comfortable he was. He really didn't want to move.

“... do you want to stay?” Stephen offered quietly after his yawn, sitting up a little to give Tony a soft smile, before looking somewhat sheepish. “I mean, since… Friday’s here and all you might like… and I’m sure the cot would be more comfortable than… ah…”

Tony pulled back and looked at his bag, then to Stephen before wordlessly crawling up into the offered space. He pulled Stephen down against his chest, arms wrapping around his midsection protectively and facing him towards Levi.

"So I guess we're just going to skip the wine-n'-dine and go right to it, eh?" he snickered, pressing his forehead against Stephen’s. "That was the plan after all, though it beats sleeping in a chair."

“... you know I didn’t mean anything untoward by it,” Stephen gave a soft sigh at that, though there was something oddly bright about his eyes as he watched Tony. “Though perhaps one day… when everyone’s well again, and long after several instances of wining and dining…?”

The ‘when’ he spoke was promising.

"Well I mean yeah - if you want to drag it out, sure, it's not like we haven't already been down that road before, just at least this time we'd be in our right minds." Tony's words were so casual and soft as his sleepy mind auto-piloted his responses.

The fingers that had just begun to brush into Tony’s hair paused as Stephen made a soft noise of confusion, his expression echoing it as he looked at Tony. “... did… you and Loki…? I mean, did Loki… uh…”

"We almost did, but if you're going to say what I think you are, then no," Tony pulled back to look down at him. "He kind of offered, and we tried - but I couldn't."

“He’s a good friend,” Stephen hummed softly, shaking his head with a wry smile on his lips. “He tried to pull the same with me the other day… with you, that is. Which reminds me, I really am sorry about what you walked in on. You shouldn’t have had to see that and… I’m surprised you talked to me at all after that.”

Tony let out an amused snort.

"It's okay, I don't think it really tops the photos I have of you when you experimented with Levi. Dare I say I've seen  _ the best of the best _ with you?" the brunette looked pleased as pie from that. "I didn't know you liked to get so down and dirty."

Stephen's face became immediately red as the man looked flustered. "How-- I... take back what I said about Loki. I'm going to kill him."

Scarred hands came up to cover the man’s face as he gave a slow groan, tucking in against Tony’s chest as though to hide. “Why… are you still even talking to me? You know most people would… have very stern words about that, right?”

"I'm not letting you kill my best friend Stephen," Tony chuckled softly and patted the back of his head. "Different strokes for different folks I guess, though I half-wish I was there to see it, I did manage to get  _ some _ use out of those photos… I wonder what other crazy kinky adventures you've gotten yourself into that I'm not aware of..."

“Maybe someday I’ll tell you if you ask real nice…” Stephen mumbled against Tony’s chest, clearly embarrassed. “... ugh. He told me he took pictures, I never even saw them myself… how long have you had those?”

"Long enough to appreciate them and to know that you sure like to put yourself in some really freaky, messy situations," Tony prodded with amusement. "But definitely not  _ long enough _ though is all I'll say. These will be of even more use to me now that this is kind of a thing," he snickered impishly.

“I take it you’ve been  _ enjoying yourself _ then,” Stephen huffed in his spot, sounding utterly flustered, before giving a soft sigh and relaxing some. “... I find it helpful to destress through certain… sexual activities. It’s the one thing in my life I don’t feel like I need to have total control over. The one thing where I can just let go and enjoy myself. The one thing I can do where I don’t need to be  _ perfect... _ I can just be the fucking mess that I feel like I am most of the time… is that weird? God, I’ve never actually just talked about this, this is the strangest time to discuss this…”

"And yet somehow I'm not terribly surprised by this, it makes sense enough to me, though if you don't mind me saying - it looks like I have some  _ pretty big shoes to fill _ ..." he smirked, drawing enjoyment out of putting Stephen entirely on the spot with this discussion.

As oddly perverted as it was, he could tell the man's spirits were up some over before when Stephen seemed to be snowballing into a pit of doubt. 

This was a little more optimal than that.

“Levi was smaller then. It’s not like we can… do things like that now. We haven’t been able to for years. At his current size, he’d rather easily kill me, I expect. So I make do with other things or creative individuals,” Stephen gave a soft sigh in his spot before shifting so he wasn’t hiding as much. “I have a lot of things I like in bed. Do you figure you’ll be able to keep up with me?”

"Is that a challenge?" Tony quirked his brow, feeling something flutter lightly in his chest and he tightened his hold just enough so he wasn't pressing up against the sores on Stephen's back.

"I can tell you one thing, we're not doing anything crazy until those nasty blisters on your back heal over." He let out an amused snort, "but don't think those photos didn't come without a bedtime story when I'd asked him for them."

"I expected as much..." Stephen chuckled weakly. "I'd much rather be at my best for anything of that sort. And Christine would kill both of us if we did anything here. Moreover, I need Levi to be well again before I can... Really consider those things much further than conversationally."

"Hell hath no fury, I think I vaguely remember her chewing you out those years back."

Grey-green eyes watched Tony carefully as the man seemed to hesitate before resting his hand on Tony's cheek. "We should both get some rest... I don't suppose a goodnight kiss would be too much to ask, would it?"

Tony smiled and leaned in to steal his lips, not even answering the question as he pressed his lips into Stephen's without delay.

It was a gentle kiss. Not enough to fuel anything more passionate but kind and sweet enough to warm the spirit and soothe the mind. He lingered, taking this chance to lightly taste Stephen before slowly pulling back with a half-lidded grin.

"Would that suffice for now?"

Stephen’s eyes remained closed as he cuddled in against Tony, nodding with a small smile on his face. “Perfect,” he responded, curling his own arm more firmly around Tony. “Time for some sleep? I’m not telling you any of Loki’s bedtime stories, though, so I hope cuddling is sufficient.”

"Hmph! Well, that's a drag, I guess I'll just have to think about re-enacting the ones I already know with you," he whispered in a tired gravely voice against Stephen's forehead. He nestled his chin on top of the other's forehead and let out a tired yawn.

“What a shame…” Stephen responded quietly as he steadily dozed off against Tony’s chest, his fingers curled into the back of his shirt, holding on as though Tony might disappear at any moment.

Tony lightly drew circles on Stephen's back in an unblemished spot, enjoying the moment and having a hard time considering how it all led up to this. His idle ministrations slowed until his hand went slack, relaxing entirely as he soon fell asleep with the man of his affections in his grasp, curled protectively against him.

* * *

Stephen woke up in a shot.

The room was still dark but his eyes settled on Levi as the dragon gave a deep bellow of agony in his place. Stephen’s fingers curled into Tony’s shirt as though to draw strength from him as the red’s initial cry became quieter and lower whimpers and whines of pain. Friday seemed to hesitate before her wing draped over the red dragon, who nestled against her side and muffled his howls against her scales.

Friday crooned sadly at the dragon, soft throaty bellows as she nosed along the top of his head. It didn't take long for her to notice Stephen watching them and it was her keen sense and overprotectiveness that made her aware of the red rider's eyes on them.

< _ I hope you are feeling a little better Stephen, _ > she rumbled softly in his direction, not sure if the message went through but her voice came out candidly in Stephen's mind.

Stephen's eyes flicked to the gold dragon for a long, confused moment as he considered that voice. "... Friday?" he inquired softly, trying to understand what was going on. His fingers held a little tighter to Tony's shirt for a moment and glanced at the sleeping man as he realized what was going on.

< _ Thank you, Friday. I'm considerably more concerned about Levi than anything else... _ > he responded softly, brushing at Tony's hair and looking to the red dragon in question, before focusing his attention on the red dragon. < _ Levi... how are you? _ >

< _ It hurts, _ > Levi whimpered softly in response, cuddling himself underneath Friday and keeping his cries as quiet as possible. < _ It hurts in a lot of places... _ >

< _ Should I get Christine to give you something for the pain? _ >

< _ ... please. I can't get comfortable. I just want to rest. _ >

Tony began to stir with those fingers grasping at the fabric of his shirt, he was a little disoriented but when he realized movement and soft bellowing was coming from the dragons behind him he cast a quick glance over his shoulder and then one to Stephen.

"Stephen - hey, you feeling ok?" Tony could make out the whites of Stephen's eyes as the man was looking beyond him, almost terrified which only caused him to worry and give the man a comforting squeeze.

Friday must have responded to Tony softly as he nodded and pushed himself up on his elbows. Tony reached over to the call button on the wall to alert the nearest nurse.

"Levi's hurting," Stephen murmured softly, watching Tony for a brief moment. "He'd like something for the pain, but I don't want to put him under. I need to talk to him still and..."

< _ Stephen, you're fretting... _ > Levi crooned softly, but there was no denying his pain, and Stephen finally slipped off the cot to carefully make his way over to Levi, slipping under Friday's wing to rest his hands on Levi's muzzle.

< _ Of course, I'm fretting. I love you. I'm scared for you. I don't want you to hurt... _ >

< _ You need to worry about the Sanctum. I hurt... but I'll be fine, _ > the dragon assured him gently.

The nurse quickly popped into the room, Tony requested Christine and she bolted off to grab the doctor. The brunette then slipped off the cot and knelt down next to Stephen, he crawled under the canopy of Friday's wing and put an arm around Stephen's side for reassurance.

"Christine is on her way, I know even if we weren't giving Levi painkillers Christine wanted to know exactly when he woke up." He reached over to place a hand next to Stephen's soothing the top of the red dragon's snout.

"Hang in there for me, bud, we'll get you those painkillers. It's nice to see you're finally awake," Tony smiled, speaking in a low soothing voice. "You gave us all a scare."

Levi gave a low grumble and nudged at them both, remaining in his spot with his mate hovering over him. He laid himself down and gave a soft sigh. Stephen's hand shifted to rest on Tony's gently and sighed a little bit himself.

"Thank you for sending for Christine. Levi was asking," the man murmured lowly, and Levi gave a little bit more of a soft grumbling noise.

< _ It's good to see you two are talking again, _ > he quipped, leaving Stephen to chuckle and lean to press a soft kiss to the dragon's nose.

"Stephen! How is he?" a woman's voice intruded, and Stephen quickly straightened to look over as Christine approached.

"He's in pain," the red rider replied, not removing his hand from Tony's, but moving the other hand over Levi's muzzle more pointedly. "His tail and haunches are hurting, naturally."

Christine moved around the side of the dragon to the tail. The swelling had gone down significantly and now Levi was awake, and Christine wasn't concerned about administering the anesthesia any longer.

It was quick, she grabbed the injection off the tray she had brought into the hospital room and held it over the dragon’s thigh.

"This is going to hurt just for a moment, and then all the pain will go away, just relax for me ok Levi?" Her voice was nurturing as Christine knelt over and slid the long needle into the dragon eliciting a slight grunt from the discomfort. She's injected the painkiller before moving to the dragon's tail and doing the same.

Shortly after, Levi's breathing evened out and there was a soft visceral sigh from the red drake as his muscles relaxed and the drake found his peace. Friday crooned once again, she could feel the drake's relief as his pain subsided.

Tony looked at Christine and then to Stephen with a soft sigh. "Thanks, Christine," he then smiled at Stephen, pulling him in.

Stephen smiled a bit warmly at her, a hand remaining on Levi's nose as the other curled around Tony's waist. "... thank you."

< _ Thank her for me? _ > Levi requested as he relaxed in his spot, shifting his tail slightly before settling fully.

"Levi also thanks you."

"I assumed as much," Christine chuckled a bit. "Good to see you awake, big guy. Rest up. If you need anything, you give me a call alright? I hope you feel better soon. Both of you," she looked at Stephen pointedly, though there was a soft smile on her features as she took in the two men, before offering a small wave and heading off again.

Friday lifted her head happily to bump Christine softly with a gentle happy purr. The doctor gently rubbed Friday's chin, giving it a few soft scratches before walking away.

Tony let go of Stephen to walk over the cot and grabbed his pillow and the blanket. He dragged it back over to Stephen and set the pillow down against Levi's side while draping the blanket over the red rider's shoulders.

"You need to catch up on your sleep now, and I know you won't want to go back to the bed so let's get comfortable." He once again hooked his arm around Stephen's waist and pulled him back down against Levi's side to try and coax the red rider into getting some rest.

Sinking into the spot beside Tony, Stephen winced a little as he leaned just the wrong way in his spot before adjusting and finally making himself comfortable, resting his head atop Tony's with a soft sigh. "Thank you for being here. I know a bed would be considerably more comfortable - a proper bed - but... it means a lot to me that you're here with me," his voice was quiet, covered some by Levi's deep breaths. "It's important that you get a good night's sleep though. It's probably for the best that you don't do this too often..."

"I think I can make the calls whether or not I’ll be good to sleep on or off a bed. It's not every day you get a boyfriend whose dragon is severely in danger. Small sacrifices Stephen, small sacrifices I'll happily make for you, and even bigger ones should it come to that." Tony put a gentle hand on Stephen's head and guided him closer so he could place a reassuring kiss on the rider's forehead.

With Levi calmed down it seemed to put a collective spell over the room as everyone seemed to be in much higher spirits now.

"... 'boyfriend' huh?" Stephen chuckled softly, his heart feeling oddly warm and full at the use of the word. "You're sweet, you know that?" He couldn't bring himself to let go of the other, pulling him in closer and cuddling Tony as though he was some kind of large teddy bear. "I'll have to learn a lot from you, clearly."

"Well yes, obviously… Our dragons are mated and you've accepted my affections so naturally that also means that you are mine," Tony let out a hearty chuckle, peppering a few more playful kisses above his brow. "I'm pretty sure that's how it works."

“You’re adorable,” the man responded, shaking his head as he cuddled against the other, closing his eyes to try and get back to sleep, feeling the warmth of his dragon against his back and the warmth of Tony at his side. Giving a soft sigh, unable to stop the little smile on his lips, he rested his head on Tony’s shoulder. 

“I love you, Tony.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	11. Chapter 11

The next time Tony woke up it was in the morning. Light filtered in through the wide arching windows of the medical bay and with the dragons sleeping almost soundlessly.

There was a wet spot on his neck where Stephen had drooled that dropped down onto his shoulder and he couldn't help but smirk, the area on his neck a little sensitive with the bristles of Stephen's beard rubbing up against the tender skin as he sat there, arms lazily resting around his recently acquired boyfriend.

It still seemed a little too surreal, and almost too good to be true. While what happened to Levi was nothing to rejoice, the red dragon seemed to be on the road to recovery and the fear Tony felt at the idea of losing both Stephen and the drake had mostly been alleviated.

<_ Hey Fri, you up? _>

There was a drawn-out moment of silence before the drake responded softly. <_ Yes Tony, good morning. Levi slept a lot better through the night after the painkillers. _> The gold dragon rumbled softly shifting in closer to her mate.

<_ Is Stephen feeling a little better? _> she inquired softly.

<_ Yeah, sleeping like a baby.. _.>

<_ That's good, you have duties to tend to today, don't you? _>

<_ I do, I might have to leave… I don't really want to but I need to go see my father about what happened. You can stay here and let him know where I went when he wakes up? _> Tony brushed some hair out of Stephen's eyes, making attempts to try and slip out from underneath the sleeping man without disturbing him.

<_ Of course, Tony. _>

“Well don’t you two look cute,” Loki commented quietly as he approached the group. Levi made no efforts at moving, nor indicating whether or not he was awake, but with Tony’s movement, Stephen gave a soft sigh and readjusted in his spot, resting back against Levi further.

“C’mon, Steve and Mordo wanted to talk to you about what they’d learned so far about the thing that attacked yesterday,” Loki sighed. “I volunteered to come down because I figured we should check how Stephen was before dragging him along with…”

"I should be good to do this on my own with you," Tony started, he managed to slip out from underneath the blanket without disturbing the red rider, leaning over to peck Stephen on the forehead before crawling out from under Friday's wing and standing up.

"At least give him until Levi is awake and feeling much better, I can handle his responsibilities in the meantime." Tony kept his voice low, reluctant to leave Stephen but he had to shoulder a lot more with Stephen needing to stay by Levi's side and not being officially discharged yet.

Loki let out an amused breathy laugh and nodded his head towards the exit. "Well, let’s not burn daylight then." Tony nodded, a lingering glance on Stephen before he followed Loki outside to Hela.

“Lucky for you I brought a ride, or you’d be in for a hell of a walk, you know,” he added, shaking his head some. “Steve and Mordo have been at this most of the night, should we stop at the canteen and grab something to eat before I drag you to the library for what’s sure to be an exciting morning full of theories, attack and defence plans…?”

"Yeah - yeah, let's just grab something to go real quick or I think my stomach might just eat itself. I've had my fill of hospital food for a while, trust me," he laughed and hopped up onto Hela's back, getting comfortable in the saddle behind Loki with his arms around the raven-haired rider's waist.

“Alright, you run in and grab something when we land and I’ll make sure we’re ready to head out again,” Loki chuckled a bit as they took off, ascending several metres before landing on the ledge just outside the canteen. Hela shuffled her feet but otherwise remained still, making it easy to let Tony down.

The Sanctum leader quickly snuck inside to grab a couple of things - muffins, a couple of small sandwiches, and a raspberry scone - waving to the chef briefly before scooting himself back out the door and climbing aboard his ride. With that, they were off again, with Loki and Hela dropping him off just outside the library.

“If you need a ride while Friday’s taking care of her mate, you let me know alright? Good luck in there!”

"Yeah, you're the best Loki. I don't know what I'd do without you," he gave the green rider a hearty embrace before slipping off the back of the dragon with one of the pastries in his mouth and waving back as he dashed off towards the library doors.

He tucked away the rest of the baked good for later, trying to scarf down his breakfast as quickly as possible as he approached the two men who seemed to be pouring over texts in books.

"Kaecelius, Mordo," Tony addressed them, he was always oddly formal when he spoke with them, and it may have been how the two tended to carry themselves in but regardless they were men who called for respect.

"I left Stephen at the hospital to monitor his dragon, he hasn't been properly discharged so until then his responsibilities will fall to me." Kaecilius gave him a curt nod and Mordo reached out a hand to shake Tony's, which he promptly returned.

"That is all fine, Stephen may take as much time as he needs, especially after facing the foe he did. It is nothing to take lightly," Kaecilius mentioned, matter-of-factly.

“Steve should be returning shortly, he was gathering materials to deal with talking about a means of assaulting this entity,” Mordo explained, calm and quiet. “Based on what we’ve been reading, it looks as though we haven’t seen the entirety of this entity yet.”

“We believe it may be a portal,” Kaecilius added for clarification. “When whatever created the portal realized that someone had noticed it in the sky, they relocated it somewhere easier to hide. Somewhere more challenging to attack with fire-based weapons. Naturally, Dragonfire isn’t exactly fire as most people consider it to be, but the heat it emits is still so great that if we were to attempt to attack the portal and force it closed from above while it’s in the water, the steam that would be given off would be highly dangerous to the riders and at the very least uncomfortable for the dragons.”

“Figuring out where the portal leads and what attacked them has been more challenging, however,” Mordo took over explaining, waving Tony over to show off a couple of diagrams in the pages of a few open books. “Something corrosive enough to eat through dragonscale is impressive, to begin with, but to think this creature secretes such a substance through its flesh without sustaining damage… well, that’s something else entirely. Steve acknowledged a couple of extraplanar creatures who look akin to what attacked, but none of them have this excretion of corrosive ooze situation that we know of…”

"So we don't know anything other than it's an extra-dimensional entity, it's smart and it's also weak to Dragonfire. It's corrosive to touch while water has no effect on it and it can relocate, stretch, and expand." Tony bit his lip trying to think.

"Right now it's isolated, but since the quarantine call, it's been growing in small amounts. Since we encountered it, there have been reports that it's expanding at an exponential rate and the safe zones for this thing are getting smaller as well. It's been corrupting the seafloor and eating away at any bio-organic matter that gets close." Tony looked to Mordo.

"Do we know if whatever is in that portal, or even the portal itself is carbon-based at all?" Tony felt nervous, he felt out of his bubble, he didn't know what he was doing and he also knew people were depending on him.

“It’s really hard to say,” Mordo sighed and shook his head. “As much as Stephen needs the rest to recover, the reality is that he’d have the best insight on a lot of this kind of information. Biology is a strong-suit of his and he saw the creature in person. Steve’s great when it comes to battle tactics and planning but…” the red rider gave a small shrug.

“We can ask him when he’s feeling better. When I asked Christine she indicated that he wasn’t too badly injured, so we’ll get him comfortable up here eventually and see what we can do. But in the meantime, we need to figure out how to avoid that corrosive substance hurting the dragons, and ideally just… close the portal,” Kaecilius rubbed at his face a little.

"We could always go to the hospital to talk to him, I can't imagine seeing a problem there," Tony tapped his chin in thought as he considered their options. "If Levi's health is on the rise, I don't think that will be entirely necessary."

“Christine has been very particular about the fact that her patients should not have their recovery intruded upon with matters like these, with that said… you’re the Sanctum leader, you have rank you can pull on her if you deem it necessary,” Mordo stated clearly enough before he and Kaecilius looked at one another in uncertainty.

"I am not going to pull rank on Christine of all people. She knows what's good for her patients and I'm not going to do anything to go against her better judgement here. If Stephen's not out of the hospital then there's a reason. Whether it be due to his physical or mental health," Tony started.

"As for what we need to deal with this: armour for the dragons that the corrosive matter can't eat through. Do we know if there are any alloys that can contain it or stop it from eating through?”

“We don’t know of any materials thus far aside from teflon that seem to be immune to the substance. Christine scraped some of it off of Levi and gathered it up for studying, but… it’s very hard to work with because it’s a challenge to even be around geared up,” Kaecilius sighed. “Neither of us are chemists, nor is Steve. Stephen has some chemistry under his belt but mostly biochemistry… which might be useful here, but it’s hard to say.”

“I asked Wong about it,” Steve stated as he made his way into the library, “the substance that is. It doesn’t sound particularly familiar to him, though he suggested that there are three dimensions in particular that the corrosive may be linked to. Isolating which one it is might help us determine how to deal with it.”

"I'll need one of those samples, I'm going to take a trip back home and talk to my father about manufacturing an armour. I need resources over there I won't have access to here - I will need help looking after the Sanctum while I'm absent as well. This can wait until Stephen is much better though." Tony swallowed, nervous at the idea of going back home, but it was necessary. 

The chances that Stark Industries was already involved in the current issue was extremely high, and the chances of man-made weaponry being able to deal with these threats were also extremely low.

“I spoke with Christine some about Stephen’s release. She’s expecting he’ll be recovered enough to leave in the next three days, but that wholly depends on Levi’s recovery. She’s still not completely sure about whether he’ll make a full recovery or not because she’s not wholly sure what kind of damage the corrosive has done. She’s being optimistic about it, but there’s a lot to consider, and even once he recovers it could be some time before he can fly again as easily as he could before. His scales will take some time to grow back in properly, so without armour, assuming he recovers, Stephen won’t be able to lead an assault on this thing…” Steve explained rather matter-of-factly.

“You’re thinking of leaving the Sanctum now of all times?” Mordo frowned deeply, looking entirely as though he disapproved of the notion, but not getting into it. “Kaecilius, will you please retrieve a sample for the Sanctum leader?”

Giving a short bow and a nod, the white-haired man left the room, leaving Tony alone with the two red riders.

"If you think me being here at the Sanctum is going to solve the problem itself without the resources then, no offence Mordo, that's just not going to happen. I have the resources back home to craft armour to protect our dragons, resources the Sanctum on its minimal budget simply can't afford or don't have the materials to craft - nor the foundries." Tony frowned, trying to reason with the other.

"There are other people with more experience that can stand in for me while I'm gone, and I need yourself and their assistance to do so. I'm not just disappearing on some vacation somewhere. One thing is for sure, I won't be leaving you alone until Stephen is discharged from the ward."

“And if he isn’t discharged, then what?” Mordo continued, “you came to us years ago and signed a contract that meant you fundamentally severed your ties to family outside of the Sanctum. The Sanctum _ is _ your family now. And now you mean to leave while you’re supposed to be responsible for guiding us, to return to people who may or may not even take you back-”

“Mordo, that’s enough,” Steve interjected sharply. “Tony is your Sanctum leader. He will determine what the best course of action is. In the meantime, there are still five red riders capable of taking up the organization of the Sanctum until Stephen’s back on his feet.” Blue eyes turned to Tony. “If you need to go, do what you need to do.”

"The sooner I go, the sooner I get back. This isn't some family vacation for me Mordo. If you think the Sanctum is just going to happen upon the materials and technology we need in order to craft said armour, then you don't have a clue. This Sanctum is running on empty with regards to the world outside of it, and I'm trying to take these steps to help it out," Tony looked at Steve and then nodded.

"I'm going to make a stop at the hospital to talk to Christine and Stephen about this but I'll keep you all in close contact about my next steps."

“I can give you a ride to the hospital. But it might be best to get one of the green riders to take you out to see your father. Keep them there with you so that in emergencies we can communicate directly…?” Steve suggested quietly as Kaecilius returned and offered the sample vial to Tony.

Tony accepted the vial with a quick 'thank you' to Kaecilius before tucking it away into his bag and nodding. "I was going to ask Loki to help me out with that, he could stay with me, I just need to make sure he's clear of all of his other duties first."

Steve nodded. "That sounds like a good idea, we never know when we might need you back here, especially if Stephen isn't going to be going with you, he may need our help as well with Friday or Levi."

Tony waved to the group of riders, Mordo didn't seem very supportive of the idea but he nodded and Kaecilius was apparently doing his best to help ease everything. 

With that Tony left the library, walking off onto the platform where the green rider had been waiting for him. "Off to the hospital to see your wife and kids then?" Loki snickered and Tony rolled his eyes and hopped onto Hela's back with him.

The green dove from the platform and circled her way back down on the currents, giving a low call to another of the dragons on the hospital platform to warn them of her presence before she landed, and Loki waved to Tony as the man headed inside. Friday was the first to greet him, though Levi’s head raised from its spot to watch him carefully as well.

Stephen stood and gave a small yawn before smiling a bit and making his way over to wrap his arms around the gold rider. “Hey… good morning. I was told you had plans to leave. I’m glad you decided to visit us first. How are things holding up? How are you doing this morning?”

Tony wrapped his arms around Stephen's chest and pressed his face into the taller man's shoulder, closing his eyes for a moment to relish in the body contact.

"I had a meeting with Mordo and Kaecilius as well as Steve. Stephen, I'm going to have to return to New York to talk to Howard, my father," he mentioned hesitantly. "My father has resources that can help deal with the corrosive matter of the monsters in the portal or whatever it was. Mordo wasn't too pleased but I'm taking a sample over there to have tested and hope we can come up with something… Loki will be coming with me." Tony was saddened by the idea of having to leave for a while especially with Levi's recovery.

“You should talk to Bruce before you go at the very least, if not take him with you,” Stephen responded as he held the other close against his chest. “He may well be one of the smartest men in the Sanctum, plus his blue is going to fly much faster than Hela will, and he’ll have to stop less for rests. He’s well-versed in radiophysics, nuclear physics, biochemistry, radiobiology, biotechnology, biomedical engineering, the list is extensive. If you’re going to help us arm up against this… Bruce may well be the person best equipped to help you. I know you’re attached to Loki, and I’ll be losing out on someone who could help me figure out what this thing is… but I have a lot of resources for that here.”

"Alright, if you're confident I'll reach out to Bruce, I'm just having a hard time figuring out how I'm going to break it to Loki that I'm cheating on him with another rider for my lifts," the brunette grinned and he bumped his forehead up against Stephen's.

"I'll be there and back as soon as I have development. Are you and Levi going to be alright with Friday? I can honestly stay back and wait until you are both in better condition." Tony trailed off, grabbing Stephen's hands and brushing his thumbs tenderly over the tops.

“Hmm, I’m sure you and Loki can figure that out on your own no problem,” Stephen chuckled. “In the meantime, we’ll be fine. Whether you’re here or not won’t do much to change the outcome of what happens with Levi and I. You should be where you’ll be able to do the most - if that’s in a workshop somewhere else, then I trust you’re where you’re supposed to be. Besides, apparently Friday’s talking to me directly now. That means we’ll have a direct line of communication with one another in case anything goes awry…”

The red rider swallowed hard and there was no denying what he meant when he said ‘awry,’ but Tony didn’t have time to linger on it as Stephen slipped a hand free to cup his cheek before leaning to kiss him softly and pressing his forehead against Tony’s. “Just come back home as soon as you’re reasonably able. I look forward to seeing what you can do.”

That single kiss sent a shock through Tony's body as if someone had a defib unit and had jolted him back to life. A simple gesture, but for some reason that kiss meant the world and he grappled Stephen's head before he pulled away too far so he could sink in and steal a kiss of his own. He couldn't fight the smile curling upon his lips and grinned like an idiot.

It was nice to have Stephen be so forward. 

"That's really good news," he seemed a little surprised at hearing about Friday and it made his heart swell. If she was talking to him… well, that certainly meant they were leaps and bounds closer than they had been before. As far as Tony knew, dragons only spoke with the spouses of their riders - and only in rare instances were they so closely bonded as to do that. 

"If you need me at all, I won't hesitate to come right home." He drew Stephen in for one last drawn-out hug, holding him like it was the last time he'd see the man again, chin hooked over his shoulder as he squeezed.

"Take care of everyone for me."

"I will. Remember, no blinking in-flight okay? Remind Bruce. Until we know what that is... Ah. Anyway, you know this. I'm just delaying you," Stephen sighed to himself, holding Tony tightly against himself and burying his nose in Tony's hair. "Be safe. I'll make sure everything here is in order when you get back. Levi's already reached out to Bruce, he'll be here shortly."

Tony didn't want to let go, he crushed the man in a hug and rocked him lightly, leeching off of the rider's warmth. "We probably have a few minutes before he gets here, I imagine he'd have to pack some of his things," Tony mumbled into his shoulder, he snuck a playful kiss on the side of Stephen's neck.

“Hmm, and what about telling Loki that he’s been dismissed from escort duty…?” Stephen chuckled softly, fingers playing with the short hairs at the back of Tony’s neck. “Plus yes, you should probably pack whatever you need, unless you expect they’ll have clothes and the like for you.”

"Mmm, I was just so distracted by you - can you really blame me?" he laughed and sighed softly. 

Tony pulled away and grabbed his phone from his pocket, starting to text furiously for a couple of minutes. The exchange finally ended but by the time Tony stuck his phone back in his pocket the blue rider landed and there was a low bellowed as his dragon signalled his arrival.

Tony sighed and hooked Stephen in once more for another hug, leaning over to whisper playfully in his ear. "I'll be back before you know it."

“Time flies when you’re having fun or something, right?” Stephen chuckled softly, turning his head to brush another brief kiss to Tony’s lips before releasing him entirely. “Keep in touch, let me know what’s going on and I’ll do the same,” he smiled warmly. “I’ll let you know what we know as we go along.”

<_ Tony, _ > Friday called out to him, stretching out her neck to bump her nose against his head. < _ Have a safe flight. I’ll miss you. _>

Tony's heart melted at that smile, a thing he’d only dreamed of. He nodded with a smile of his own, pinching Stephen's beard with his fingers lightly and affectionately as he finally pulled away from the rider, patting Friday’s nose gently in the process and looking to her. "I'll send you updates every day, the good and the bad." 

He finally moved out of Stephen's space as he heard the wingbeats behind him and retreated to the expectant blue rider. 

Without hesitating he climbed up onto the blue's back, sitting behind Bruce who smiled sincerely at the both of them.

"You ready to go, Tony?"

"Yeah, we're burning daylight - let's go!"

“I know we’re headed towards NYC, but where are we heading exactly? I’ll need directions. There are supplies tucked in the saddle packs, so if you get hungry or thirsty along the way let me know. We can always set down if you need to use the washroom at any point. Hulk can’t fly for as long as a red or a gold, so we’ll need to set down now and then anyway,” Bruce explained cheerfully enough as they took off. “I also stopped by your apartment - Loki packed up a couple bags of clothes for you, so I apologize in advance if all you have are hotpants and tank tops. I figured you’d need something to wear, though.”

Tony rolled his eyes. "It’s fine, if I really need to I can always just buy more clothes." He honestly dreaded what Loki had put together in his overnight bag.

"Alright, so," Tony pulled out his phone and texted the address to Bruce and the other man pulled his phone out to look at the address. 

"Without blinking it will be about six hours with Hulk," he looked over to Tony again from his phone and the man nodded.

"Well, let's go then. Daylight is burning my friends." He gave the blue drake a gentle pat on the side and nodded to Bruce, grabbing the handles of the saddle as he prepared to take off.

* * *

They stopped twice on the way, giving the big blue a half-hour rest each time, making it nearly seven hours by the time they arrived and Tony couldn’t bring himself to be surprised by the man who appeared on the helicopter pad to greet them. He was greyer than Tony remembered - completely grey, and surprisingly not balding - but his expression was no less stern as he and several guards stared at the blue dragon.

“Hey dad,” Tony greeted cheerfully and Howard’s eyes narrowed.

“What are you doing here?”

“Eh, you know, came to save the world,” he shrugged a bit nonchalantly, leaving Howard to shake his head.

“It’s being taken care of. In the next twenty minutes, there will be no problem to worry about. Now if you don’t mind, I have people I need to be in contact with about precisely that problem. You can go back to where you came from and continue to be a drain on public resources,” Howard stated, gesturing to his guards and starting to turn away before a large tail blocked the path in front of him.

“... Hulk, buddy, it’s fine,” Tony patted the blue dragon, shaking his head and managing to sound calmer than he felt. He had no idea what his father was up to precisely, but he could make some assumptions as to the general idea and he was doubtful of the effectiveness. “So you’re planning to what, bomb part of the Eastern seaboard? Without even knowing what it is?”

“I’m not planning anything. The US government has decided this is the course of action they plan to take. It just so happens they trust my weapons to be more effective than your… beasts,” Howard stared at the tail blocking his path distastefully before it was removed.

"Your weapons will do nothing, especially if ours could only push back the threat temporarily," Tony slid down the side of the dragon's stomach, dismounting entirely. "Dragonfire will work, but we need armour and I need resources."

"And what, you expect to use the company's resources for that?" Howard chided rather indignantly to his son.

"I do because I know it will work. You haven't seen first hand what this thing is, what this thing is capable of. We have, and we have ways to stop it that human technology can't do alone," Tony approached, the guards didn't seem to move despite that.

"If Stark Tech doesn't work, then what?" Tony narrowed his eyes. "You think just firing missiles at the problem is going to work?" Howard looked none too thrilled.

"We'll try it my way, and if it doesn't work - then maybe I'll consider reaching out to the Sanctum - maybe I'll let you use the company's resources."

"That's not your call to make, if the navy can't handle this, if the army can't handle this then it's up to the Sanctums, what the entire order was built upon, and you can either deny it and be part of the problem - or accept it and be part of the solution," Tony stared his old man down, Bruce timidly dismounting after him and walking up behind.

"I need the company's resources, this isn't a game, lives are at stake here."

“You’re right, this isn’t a game. Why do you think I’m not giving you access?” Howard turned to face Tony, his expression in every way business-like. Familiar. “You left. You left this company. You left this family. You abandoned everything you were, just like your mother. You have no right to access anything at Stark Industries. You gave that up to go play dragonriders like a ten-year-old child, and you think you can just show up now and demand the resources of a private business? You forsook the name Stark. So this is very much my call to make, and you can sit down and wait while I consider your less-than-stellar proposal, or you can get back on your dragon and leave. This is private property.”

"We'll wait as long as we need to. This isn't just some petty family feud, Howard," Tony said his father's full name with such disgust. "I'm hoping you'll come around to see that all of this is bigger than us - than the company." Tony crossed his arms over his chest.

"There are responsibilities bigger than the both of us, and I for one won't put some petty family feud in the way of all of this. I'm not leaving until I've done my absolute best to ensure the safety of this planet."

Bruce was calming his drake down, he hadn't yet unsaddled it just in case the two were escorted from the building.

Howard’s eyes rested on the dragon for a moment before he shook his head, turning away. “There’s no space for that thing indoors and the helicopter pad may be required for military personnel in the event that you’re correct. Please relocate him to the gardens, well away from your mother’s roses. You know where the waiting room is,” the man stated sharply as he made his way indoors again.

Two guards remained stationed on the roof, one of whom flipped up his visor once Howard and his entourage left. “Tony,” the guard - Clint, he thought the man’s name was, wasn’t it? - smiled a little. “Colonel Rhodes is inside. I already sent a message to the guards to escort you there… I’m sure he can get you into the labs faster. Despite what your old man thinks, we all know he has his biases. In case something goes wrong… well, nothing wrong with a back-up plan, right?”

"He doesn't know what my riders have seen, and his arrogance is going to put us all in danger if he ends up not wanting to accept help from the Sanctums." Tony smiled, there was some relief as he spoke to Clint, walking towards the guard.

"Bruce will put Hulk in the gardens, and then we can meet him downstairs in the lobby and wait until my old man finally gets his head screwed on the right damn way," he rolled his eyes.

Bruce had already taken off with a nod and Clint shared a chuckle as he escorted Tony down into the main foyer.

The brunette took up a seat, he figured they'd give him the run-around and it would be a lot longer than he'd be told to wait. Bruce came in and joined him, sitting on the bench in the lobby beside him with his hands folded in his lap. "That bad of a relationship, eh?"

"Eeeeyup." Tony sighed softly. "Just a waiting game now."

“If it helps any, I understand,” Bruce offered quietly. “I went to uni to escape my dad and joined a friend at the Sanctum on a lark in hopes of keeping away from him. The fact that you volunteered to come back here, and stood up against him…? Pretty bold if you ask me.”

“That’s Tony’s style. Bold,” a familiar voice piped up as a man in an officer’s uniform arrived, offering a grin. “Long time no see, Tones,” Rhodey greeted cheerfully, offering his old friend a hand.

Tony was surprised to hear the familiar voice, immediately standing up to grab his comrade's hand in a shake before tugging Rhodey in for a hug that could only be described as brisk.

"God, Rhodey, it's been a hot second, but yeah I'm pretty sure my old man's going to realize his mistake, I'm pretty sure you've all realized that this is just another stunt he's pulling to flex his muscles in front of the government - it's not going to work. I'm glad I'm here to watch him fall flat on his face," he smirked.

"I want to introduce you to Bruce," Tony immediately pulled away, walking over to the timid man and grabbing him by the shoulders. "Basically me-squared."

Bruce had to roll his eyes but held out a hand that Rhodes took regardless.

"It's nice to have more brilliant,_ logical _minds on the team, Tones. I feel like what you're old man's trying to do now is basically spray a water-gun at a brick wall."

“I don’t know what he’s working with, but it’s likely that’s all it will amount to,” Bruce sighed as he shook Rhodes’ hand with a warm smile. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Rhodes added with a grin, before looking around and waving his hand. “Come on, this way. I’m sure I can get you better seats to your pop’s face if this goes down poorly. Do you know anything about what we are dealing with? We’ve been kept a lot in the dark, the Sanctum mostly just told us to keep away and keep others away. But it’s been a couple of days now and we could use more to go on. That thing is spreading, whatever it is, and if mundane weapons won’t work on it--”

“It’s a portal of some sort,” Bruce interjected. “Shooting a weapon at it is only going to send the weapon somewhere else. What’s coming through the portal… well, I have some personal theories…” He glanced to Tony briefly, clearly checking with his Sanctum leader as to whether or not it was acceptable to explain his theory further, even as Rhodes ushered them into a dark room full of screens focused on the subject of their conversation.

Tony nodded, he trusted Bruce had both a better understanding of it and a clearer means of explaining it than he did, not to mention he was way too personally attached to the casualties that came from it afterwards.

"We don't know where it leads, we don't know where it comes from, but blowing it up with missiles won't work, and the only effective way to fend it off so far has been dragonfire. But our dragons can't touch it, it's almost like a Kraken, and the surface of whatever is coming out of it is corrosive to touch which is why we are here." The two geniuses looked at one another.

"I came here to use the facilities resources, it's a good opportunity for Howard to plaster Stark Industries across this success story. We wanted to manufacture dragon armour for our dragons, but Howard won't hear of anything to do with me, at least not until he sees this thing for himself, which is really going to just make things harder for us in the end and waste time." Tony shook his head with a sigh.

“I actually have a theory about where it leads,” Bruce stated quietly in his spot, fidgeting. “I was talking with Bucky while I escorted him and Winter back to the Sanctum… and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they were attacked while they blinked immediately before the rest were attacked by that creature.”

Rhodes gave Tony a puzzled look, and Tony smiled. “Blinking is the whole dragon-teleport thing.”

“Ah.”

“Sorry! Sorry, yes, teleporting, whatever you want to call it. When a dragon blinks they enter a space between spaces. We’ve been theorizing about these things for a while but the Sanctums often lack funding to do further research about any of these kinds of things so all we’re left with are theories. It’s possible that something dangerous was left on a dragon when they went to that between place and took root in that space, becoming larger without any kind of predators or challenges to keep them in check…” The man explained, taking his glasses off to clean a smudge away as he offered a nervous smile.

“I think it’s been studying us… and that perhaps it similarly latched onto Winter not solely as an attack, but as a means of breaching through into this plane…”

Tony was a little horrified at the idea that they might have possibly brought back a part of the creature that had attacked them. He had to think for a moment if there was anything that made it through when the dragons came back, but thankfully he couldn’t.

"Whatever it is it’s obviously trying to break through, but we can't get anywhere near it. Whatever the surface of it is made of can melt right through dragon scales. We brought a sample of it and we're going to need to try it out on different alloys to find out what can best protect the dragons if we have any chance in fighting this thing." Tony crossed his arms over his chest.

"The longer it stays in between our world the strong and smarter it's going to get. It's almost like a virus, learning and adapting and continually spreading. We need to stop it now before it grows too big and then I don't even know what we're going to do if that happens," Bruce added softly.

“_ God, shit, damnit! _” A voice shouted from through one of the monitors and Rhodes sighed and shook his head a bit, gesturing to one of the monitors where Howard's face came into view, clearly livid. 

“Well, Tones, I think that’s your cue. Do you have a nice ‘I told you so’ prepared, or are we going full high-road with this?” his friend inquired with amusement as Bruce took a closer look at some of the monitors, focusing in on the one that seemed to show where the weapon had gone and not gone off. 

No explosions. 

No nothing.

Bruce gave a low hum at that.

Howard marched down the stairs with a couple more bodyguards and he looked flustered in all sense of the word as the man leered over at Tony standing in front of him with a wide gate to his stance.

There wasn't so much as an argument as the man handed Tony and his colleague a couple of access tags.

"You both better be right about your assumptions. You can go through with your plans, but Stark Industries owns the rights to this project and you better turn this thing over in two weeks tops or I'm kicking you out and the Sanctum is going to be billed for wasting resources."

Tony snorted. "You don't think there wouldn't already be an overwhelming time pressure on this situation? I plan to have this taken care of much sooner if there are no restrictions to the resources we can use." Tony stared his old man down.

"You better be right about this."

"We're dealing with a potentially world-ending threat and you're still worried about your own ego?" Tony shook his head, snatching up the clearance cards and nodding for Bruce to follow him.

Rhodey followed them with a quick nod to Howard he escorted the two riders towards the lab. Howard didn't even so much as glance at them he stormed down the compound’s hallway off towards his office once again.

“Bruce, allow me to personally welcome you to my lab!” Tony offered exaggeratedly as the doors opened on their own leading into the pristine laboratory area of the building. The workshop was connected off to one side and would be useful later for crafting the armour but, in the meantime, there was a lot to determine about the actual properties of the sample they had.

“No, don’t eat the flowers-” Bruce uttered suddenly, before looking up to find the other two staring at him, Tony with amusement and Rhodes with confusion. “Uh, sorry. Hulk decided he was hungry and… a-anyway. This is perfect. Do we have materials to test on hand? I’m hoping we have enough of a sample to run tests but I don’t want anyone else endangered to fetch more, either…”

“Are you two gonna be good? I can bring lunch later, given this is kinda a matter where time is of the essence,” Rhodes smiled a bit at Tony, before giving him a hefty pat on the shoulder.

“We’ll be good. Uniform says military, right? If the military has anything they’d like to offer to aid this situation, I’m sure the Sanctum would put what they can to use,” Tony smiled in return at his dear old friend.

“After this failed mission I can imagine they will, but if you have suggestions as to what might be useful to send I’ll make sure to pass it along. Clearly explosives aren’t of any use,” he chuckled.

“Send medicine, perhaps meal packets, general aid. The less we have to scrounge and make due, the more we can focus on what we need to focus on. Have them ask for Sanctum Leader Stephen, he’ll be able to get things arranged with them. If you’ve got any small amounts of armours and materials have them sent here to be used for testing… things like that,” the Sanctum leader nodded. “There’s a lot that Stark Industries has on hand, I’m sure, but having a wide variety of materials to test with will be useful.”

“If any of our troops and machines have gotten hit by that thing and we happen to have more of that substance we’ll see about bottling it up to bring back to you as well. We’re evacuating towns along the coast now, but I’ll send someone to the Sanctum to maintain communication between areas.” Rhodes gave a playful salute to Tony, and the brunette nodded to him as Rhodes headed out again.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	12. Chapter 12

A series of experimentations yielded two options as they tested the particles of the unknown beast, observing it’s composition and make-up on a microscopic levels.

Given that their target clients were dragons who needed the ability to both to support a rider and fly unhindered, that narrowed their options down to both mesoporous  Fe3Si  aerogel and teflon. 

The only problem was teflon needed a base, and they weren't sure at the time what exactly to coat. Any sort of armour might weigh the dragons down too much and they needed a suit that could be effectively impenetrable yet still allow the dragons enough versatility to move around while supporting a rider at the same time.

The first aerogel-infused armour was created, next followed by a second suit created from hollow aluminum alloy coated in teflon. Both suits would need to be tested and that required sending word to two volunteer riders to travel to upstate New York.

It was one thing to drop a smidgen of the acidic substance on the armour, and another for a tendril to wrap around the dragon’s tail and eat through it. 

These tests would require the boldest of riders putting themselves in the line of fire to make sure the armour was tried and true for the rest, but that still meant someone was putting themselves in danger for the betterment of the rest.

Tony and Bruce both looked at their own creations, Tony going with the teflon approach while Bruce handled experimentation on the aerogel.

Conditions were made in the meantime, Tony was confident in his own agenda and if their solutions pulled through, Stark Industries would pledge a certain amount of support to the Sanctums of the world. A mere .2% of their profits would go to Sanctum relief. 

Being a logistics guy Tony knew that was nothing impacting the company and everything for the Sanctums. He managed to persuade Howard despite his reluctance but in the end, there was everything to gain for both parties. Consistent money and support for the Sanctums while the legendary reputation as an armourer of dragons would be bestowed upon the company.

“I don’t know how Stephen was convinced this was a good idea, but it sounds like Thor’s volunteered himself and Mjolnir for testing,” Bruce appraised him as they sat having lunch. “Especially since it sounds like Steve also attempted to convince Stephen and was shut down on the matter. It sounds like Natasha and Widow also volunteered, so there are two dragons of dramatically different sizes to test on. They’re on their way out to us now.”

Tony looked at the two sets of armour with a grin.

"Our first test will be to see how their endurance holds when they fly back in the armour. If my tests are correct then neither of the dragons should fatigue." Tony walked around the massive set.

There was a loud roaring from the garden from Hulk signalling the arrival of the red and green drakes and their riders as Tony nodded to Bruce and the two men made their way up to the main level.

Thankfully Howard had stayed out of their hair - it was only the first week and Tony was already ahead of the game. He figured that his father would at least show some interest in his project but that was null.

“Tony! Bruce!” Thor greeted cheerfully as he made his way down from Mjolnir’s shoulders, turning to offer Natasha a hand off of Widow - a hand that was promptly ignored as the woman descended herself and made her way over to give Bruce a hug with a cheerful smile.

“Hey there, blue! I hear you two are being a pair of productive geniuses?” Green eyes glanced between Tony and Bruce even as Thor eventually joined them.

“We’ll be ready to armour up in short order. We’ve calculated how long was required before each of us needed breaks, to begin with, so we can track and communicate any changes,” Thor smiled warmly himself. “Tomorrow, with a fresh rest, we’ll head out from the Sanctum to the front and test the durability of each armour and report back in.”

“Assuming it does its job we’ll report back in. If it doesn’t then… I’m sure you’ll hear about it either way,” Natasha added her more grounded realism to the conversation, giving Bruce a friendly pat on the shoulder. “But I’m sure you boys have figured something out.”

Tony flew back with Thor and Mjolnir, and he took notice that the armour didn't really affect the dragon much during the flight outside of the usual stops they needed to take to feed and rest.

Tony had been lost in thought about seeing Stephen, Levi and Friday again, the three things in his life outside of the Sanctum itself that really, truly mattered to him at the moment. Though the trip may have been long it was shortened by the thoughts of seeing his beloved co-leader again and as the red drake landed, Tony could feel butterflies in his chest.

There was a massive commotion as he touched down at the landing for his quarters. Friday had immediately come to greet him, tackling him to the ground followed by a very excited Levi in tow - looking in much better health than when he had left the drake.

He was assaulted by a series of licks and paws as he tried to get up, covered in dragon slobber as the two showed him the most affection he'd seen in over a week.

"It's nice to see you two, now where's Stephen?" He grabbed both of their heads waiting for at least Friday to answer.

< _ He’s on his way, _ > Friday chimed, < _ he’s accompanying a friend who is afraid of flying so far. You’ll like him, Tony! _ >

Stephen wasn’t the next creature he was assaulted by, instead a couple of small creatures came to flit around his head pausing and cocking their heads at him, before flapping away again and taking up spots on Levi’s head - tiny bronze and red dragons, soon joined by several more, with a rather swollen looking gold perching on Levi’s nose as though she owned the place. She chirped at him and Levi lowered his head a little to bring her down to face level.

< _ They must be close, _ > Friday added with some amusement.

Arms wrapped around him from behind before he could even process the tiny dragons, and a gentle kiss pressed to his neck with dark hair making it fairly clear who it was even before the man spoke. 

“It’s good to see you again,” Stephen’s deep voice rumbled quietly against him for a moment, before he let the other man go so he could turn around.

Behind him stood a tall but slender boy whom the army of tiny dragons flocked to upon his arrival, aside from the tiny gold that remained on Levi’s nose. “Uh, hi there!” he greeted as his shoulders and head were taken up by three of the tiny dragon things, with three others flitting around him as though he was the very sun of their solar system.

To say Tony was overwhelmed by the literal swam of the company would have been an understatement.

Rather than being met with the two drakes and his loving Sanctum mate that he'd left behind, there was suddenly a whole clutch of tiny dragons flitting around him like a kaleidoscope of butterflies. Tony turned in Stephen's hold, wrapping his arms around Stephen's shoulders and squeezing him tightly.

"God, I know it hasn't been long, but I really missed this, I've really missed you guys," Tony smiled, crushing Stephen in a hug before pulling away and grabbing his face to draw him in for an affectionate kiss.

"Who are these wonderful new friends? Don't tell me we have more children now on top of our adult children," Tony nodded his head towards the drakes and Levi bellowed softly, Friday nudging up against his face affectionately.

“Tony, this is Peter…” Stephen introduced as the teen gave a shy smile. “Peter, it seems, found himself a clutch of fire-lizard eggs and managed to imprint on all of them. Given that everything we know says they went extinct almost two hundred years ago, you can imagine my surprise when he showed up with these beauties along with some of the other coastal evacuees.”

“Hi,” the teen offered again with a smile. “I uh… it’s nice to meet you, I don’t mean to intrude. It’s just… MJ’s pregnant,” he gestured to the gold dragon who remained seated on Levi’s nose, seemingly undisturbed by Friday’s nearness and affection, “and so Mister Stephen here has been walking me through how to care for a pregnant bab-- er, fire-lizard.”

< _ Stephen’s been taking good care of me, _ > Friday added with a low grumble as she tucked her muzzle under Levi’s head to avoid disrupting the settling fire-lizard. < _ He’s oiled my scales every second day, and given my belly a good scratching every day. It’s been horribly itchy. I’m shedding scales. _ >

< _ Only the best for my queen, though that's going above and beyond anything I'd expect. You need to be taken care of sweetheart, you're the legacy of everything this Sanctum stands for. _ >

Tony had walked up to Friday and hugged her before pulling away when the drake let out a resigned sigh.

Tony extended a hand to Peter to shake and the young man took it. "It's nice to meet you and your brood," he smiled at the small horde of fire-lizards currently occupying Levi's crown.

"I can't even believe my eyes, just as Stephen said - goes against everything we knew," he said, walking back to Stephen and sliding a hand around his waist. "I don't think I was ever taught much about fire-lizards," Tony admitted softly as one flapped down to inspect him curiously.

“Of course not. Most of what we know about fire-lizards is historical and regarding their being bred. They’re proto-dragons,” Stephen sighed. “There’s a lot we can learn from them, and with MJ being pregnant we may have precisely the environment necessary for their numbers to increase again in the Sanctums.”

Tony had never seen a bronze dragon, but it was precisely that creature that tilted its head at him keeping itself between Tony and Levi - presumably trying to protect its Queen. “There’s a lot we can learn about dragons from them… and a lot of other things we can learn, too. With that said, we have other priorities right now,” Stephen added with a small frown.

“The military has come by and is setting up a viewing station on one of the lower floors to allow us to watch tomorrow’s armour demonstration to see what works and allow us to keep an eye on the expansion. The lower levels and the areas we generally assign to those with young dragonettes have been occupied by those who are displaced from the coastal regions, including Peter and his aunt.”

“Um… if you hold out a hand he’ll probably take up a perch there. He’s just curious…” Peter stated softly, trying not to interrupt. “He… probably smells the dragons on you.”

Tony held out his hand and the small dragonette eventually puttered it's way over to the Sanctum leader's hand without any reservation. His small talons curling around the engineer's hand as he perched and stared at him with equal curiosity,

"These little guys are so adorable, I can hardly believe that they've existed so long without any of us knowing." Tony rotated his hand a bit and the dragons seemed to crawl over his wrist to stay on top until it chirruped and decidedly crawled up onto his shoulder, seeming to take comfort in his scent.

"Where on earth did you find these Pete?" Tony smiled with curiosity in his eyes. Meanwhile, Friday leaned over to sniff and nudge at the small bronze lizard.

The small bronze fire-lizard squawked his indignation at her for a moment, flapping his wings to try and keep his balance in his spot, digging his claws in to try and stay steady under the dragon’s nudging. Stephen smiled a little at the display as he lifted a hand himself to allow one of the browns to land on his wrist and work his way, similarly, to the man’s shoulder and nestling in there with comfortable ease, well within Peter’s line of sight.

“Um… there’s a cove on the beach near where I live - near where that… thing… is… there was a nest of eggs. I thought maybe they were turtle eggs or something, I wasn’t sure. It was by chance that I was there when they were hatching and uh, I thought it might be cool to record it so I stuck around. I mean, I was pretty surprised when they weren’t turtles. I thought maybe they were baby dragons for a couple years to be honest, until I came here and Mister Stephen clarified. I guess I have a lot to learn,” the teen chuckled, rubbing at the back of his head and ignoring the way the dragons on his shoulder and head adjusted and nipped at his ear and fingers in retaliation for his disruption. “I can’t imagine how something so small could be bred into something so large, you know?”

“A lot of work, concentrated effort. Desperation, perhaps,” Stephen sighed. “Do you want to tell him how they reacted while you were boating?”

“... um. Well, before the military arrived to close off the area I didn’t know better. I was out just paddling around because they seemed to enjoy swimming by the water, but they were… really freaking out. They kept popping in and tugging at my clothes and popping out and then back in…”

“When he says popping out he means blinking,” the red rider clarified.

"Ah, well you have a place here, I'm sure Stephen wouldn't mind relinquishing his old quarters given the importance of this discovery." Tony grinned over at Stephen who looked quite taken aback by the proposal.

"We have a brooding queen, so I think that she and her clutch deserve the best along with their companion, wouldn't you say so Stephen?" Tony slung an arm around his Sanctum mate, tugging the taller man into his hip with a gentle squeeze.

The bronze around Tony's neck seemed to settle there like a scarf, curling its tail around him and relaxing as if it had found the ideal roosting spot.

"That's really not necessary, I don't need special treatment," Peter reinforced, holding his hands up and some of the drakes seem to flit around with unrest.

"I think you qualify as much as any gold rider here, which is me. I don't think Stephen would mind sharing my quarters anyways given our situation. I could make him comfortable and cozy in my room."

“My old quarters?” Stephen inquired in confusion. “My old quarters are occupied by one of the red riders from your hatching. And without a dragon who can fly him to the areas that riders would occupy it would be highly inconvenient for him to try and access a room at that height, not to mention his aunt,” his partner added, his expression remaining adorably lost.

“I uh, I’m not sure how I feel about flying. I love these guys, but they don’t fly very high, they like to stay close unless they’re hunting for food…” Peter piped up with uncertainty.

“Tony used to be anxious about flying as well from what I’ve been told. The idea grew on him. But he had a dragon to learn to fly with - you have nothing like that. So I’m not sure whether it’s wise for you to be in the riders’ area in general…”

"That's not what I meant Stephen, you're moving in with me from our joined quarters, this way we can keep the brood near Levi and Friday, who better than to help raise the welps rather than the queen herself," Tony squeezed Stephen's hip with a soft chuckle.

"We'll get you well acquainted with flying, there won't be a lot of other ways to get around the Sanctum unless you plan on tying fire-lizards to a chair and having them carry you around - which, would be highly amusing mind you but mostly impractical and quite ridiculous," Tony grinned, both men seemed to be completely confused, especially Stephen.

"I... Guess I should tell my aunt that we're moving?" Peter looked uncertain for a moment before waving at the two men and starting off down the road again. The fire-lizards seemed to slowly realize he was leaving and each of the seven lizards took to the skies to follow him shortly thereafter.

"... Tony...?" his partner inquired softly, "my room is at the top of the Sanctum. Do you mean to assign one of the dragons to ferry Peter and his aunt around the Sanctum? We only made an exception for you because you're the Queen rider and were the future Sanctum leader... Peter has no dragon of his own to get around, nor does his aunt... And are... You sure you want me moving in with you?"

"And Friday or Levi can help him around, or Loki, we have options. The same way we got me around when Friday was recovering or a welp. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it really would be a better idea, in the end, to keep the fire-lizards close to Friday," Tony smoothed his hand up and down Stephen's back with a small smile.

"We'll make it work, I have my hopes for the brood, I want to live near and study them considering until this point they were only a myth, and what better way than to be around them as best we can?”

“It’s going to be highly inconvenient…” Stephen sighed and shook his head. “Regardless, if that’s how you want to handle this we’ll find a way to make it work. Levi’s still a little off from unassisted flights, and in a couple of months Friday’s likely to lay her eggs and begin the process of brooding. Assuming Levi’s well enough by then it may be asking a lot of Levi to be at the beck and call of four people, especially when two of them can’t simply reach out to him through a dragon like you can with Friday. I assure you, I’m as fascinated by the fire-lizards as anyone - Wong and I have spent more time than we rightly should studying them - but right now we have more pressing concerns than their study.”

"We do, but those current situations are being handled. Tomorrow, Mjolnir and Widow go out for their test flights with the new armour. We're on the cusp of something very important and right now we've devoted all the resources we have to dealing with the portal," Tony half-smirked trying to convince Stephen.

"Besides, the kid will stay with me most of the time, so wherever I need to go, I'm expecting the kid will follow as well - it won't be any more of an inconvenience than what I would cause, trust me."

“So you’re planning to take Peter away from his aunt back to New York with you, is that it?” the red rider inquired as he stepped away to rub Levi’s nose some before heading towards their quarters. “You’re going to take seven fire-lizards with you to return to producing the armour when you go, as well as the kid… or are you planning on bringing his aunt May along as well?”

"Okay, no, not really, that's not what I meant. Bruce is back in New York, the only thing I will be doing is reporting back to him to let him know which of the experiments was successful and which armour we will be needing to go with. I'm confident that one of these if not both will work out in our favour. But Peter won't be a part of that."

“So you’re home for a while then is what you’re telling me?” Stephen cast his eyes back towards Tony, a small, playful smile blooming on his features as he waited for Levi to carefully wobble his way into the apartment.

"I hope that was made clear enough," Tony returned the smile.

"Bruce offered to stay behind, he knows how the lab runs, and he's just as brilliant as I am. Unless he specifically needs me on the project, I'll be here handling the testing phases and reporting the findings back to him.”

“Good,” Stephen responded, reaching to offer Tony a hand. “In that case, we should celebrate… decompress a little…? Though, I suppose I should move my things first…”

Tony didn't quite understand until he really focused on the cadence in Stephen's voice, a grin soon followed after that.

"Allow me to assist so we can get to the  _ decompression _ part of this sooner!" He trotted after Stephen excitedly, feeling his heart swell for the man.

Stephen was a very efficient mover, apparently. His clothing went first, though Tony had to make some adjustments with drawers and hangers to make space for the other. 

It was immediately after that, as the red rider was collecting up books and shuffling them from one room to another that Tony came across the first harness. It had been tucked away with a couple of wrist and ankle cuff sets with d-rings on them in a couple different places to be fastened in different ways, as well as a set of padded suspension cuffs.

Setting them on the bed he dug around a bit more until he found a piece of wood with four holes in it layered atop a piece with three holes that left him more puzzled than anything.

“Stockades,” Stephen stated lowly, and Tony jumped a little looking up at him from where he sat, before looking back at the wood.

“Oh yeah, I see it now. Interesting…” he murmured. 

Stephen gathered up what Tony had pulled out so far and moved it into the other room while Tony continued to pull things out. A few dildos and vibrators of different sizes, two rather large butt plugs (one with a tail attached to it that was kind of cute) and a pair of thick leather collars with d-rings in place as well as a posture collar with a built in ball gag.

"You know with all this gear you'd think you were ready to outfit a dragon in it, but I haven't seen you toss a harness or girdle on Levi once," Tony chuckled and Stephen seemed as if he pretended to ignore.

"Why don't we get some use out of this stuff, you know, so it doesn't go to waste?" Tony bumped into Stephen playfully, helping him pick up one of the boxes and carry it back into his own apartment. 

He followed Stephen into his room and held up one of the larger toys with a smile. "I know I probably won't be able to match that in size but I can be pretty rough." He snickered softly.

“It’s been so long since stuff with Levi I don’t know if I’d be able to take something that big anyway,” Stephen offered a wry smile at that. “And I doubt anyone would find it wise to try and do a dragon up in bondage gear, assuming the dragon was even interested - which I assure you, Levi is not. We had a whole discussion about it before when he was young and curious about why I do certain things.”

Levi snorted from his spot curled against Friday at that, nestling in close against her and grumbling. His rider simply smiled all the more. 

“Regardless, I wasn’t planning on tossing all of this gear out. It took a lot of work to make some of these, and money besides for some of it. If you’re interested in using it then… I’m all the more happy. I wasn’t sure if our… arrangement? Would mean having to put this stuff away or what so…”

"Tossing this stuff? I think we should bust it out and take it for a spin, it may not fit well on a dragon but I bet it would fit well on you. I wouldn't mind taking you out for a spin in that. I mean all that flirting eventually needed to go somewhere," Tony smirked.

"Who knows, I might want to even wine and dine you first, treat you nice, dress you up, maybe kiss you up and down the neck," Tony leaned in while Stephen was carrying one of the boxes, gently blowing on the back of his neck.

“I sort of assumed we were skipping the dinner part and going straight to celebrating that you’re home and I’m not hospitalized?” Stephen responded with a little shudder, setting things down by Tony’s bed and turning to look at him again. “Just a couple more boxes from my room, though, so if you’ve decided to change the plan then you’d best let me know… though if you need more time to decide, I suppose I can wait.”

"Ok, well," Tony skipped off after him as Stephen walked back over to his apartment. "Who says you wouldn't be the meal?" He slipped in through the door and picked up the last box in his arms, walking alongside the other rider.

Tony kicked the door shut behind him, setting the box down and joined him beside the bed with a pair of arms around the red rider's chest.

“Do you plan on making a meal out of me?” Stephen responded with a chuckle, hooking his own arms around Tony’s shoulders. “I’m not opposed, but you did say something about wine and red wine stains the sheets fairly easily. So I’d have to say I’m better paired with a white wine…” He added cheekily, bowing his head a little to press kisses along Tony’s jaw and down his neck.

Tony let out a soft groan, already getting worked up from the gentle ministrations. He smoothed a hand down Stephen's chest before grabbing the rider by the scruff of his chin and angling his head up to indulge in a hearty kiss, taking the man's mouth entirely in his own.

His free hand snaked around his side, making soft contented noises as his palm smoothed over the swell of his ass and his fingers hooked and dug into the coarse fabric to give him a firm grasp as he crushed their forms together.

Tony was hard, and Stephen felt it - just as he could tell the other man was just as worked up - and it took the iron will of a saint to keep Tony from throwing him down onto the bed and tearing his robes off.

"Mmph-" he pulled away, their lips smacking loudly as he interrupted the kiss, hovering in Stephen's space with a palpable heat between them panting from his elevated heart rate. "Wine... glasses," was all Tony managed to squeeze out as he tore himself away from Stephen and went for the fridge. He could hear the rider's soft husky chuckles as he did.

Stephen grinned, already managing to look thoroughly ruffled from the short kiss as Tony came back each with a clear glass of chilled wine that he  _ kind of wanted to just chug. _

“That kind of evening after all, then?” Stephen hummed with a smile as he settled on Tony’s -  _ their _ \- bed, playing with the edges of his robe. He flicked off one boot and then another, before shuffling back across the bed and sprawling over the pillows cheekily. “Wine in bed, like lazy gentlemen? Or are we going to be making a mess?”

"Let's just say by tomorrow morning I'm going to have to wash the bedspread." Tony slid down with grace, holding the two glasses in hand as he extended one to the other rider, kneeling down to take a spot next to him.

"Cheers to a successful test tomorrow in the field. Bruce and I were very confident and now we just play the waiting game," he purred. 

Stephen procured the glass from him and settled in against Tony's shoulder, for the time being. The engineer curled his arm around his Sanctum mate, smoothing his hand over Stephen's chest, the anticipation bleeding off of the brunette as he took larger than normal mouthfuls from his glass.

“Cheers,” Stephen stated softly in response, sipping much more slowly at his wine as he settled in, thoroughly unsurprised by Tony’s words. He seemed to be in no rush, holding the glass with both hands and looking to the dragons thoughtfully.

“I suppose our new neighbours will need a hand moving to their new home…” he added absently, and one of Levi’s eyes opened to look at them. “Should we reach out to someone, or send these two to lend a wing?”

"If the lovely couple wouldn't mind," Tony let out a gentle sigh. squeezing Stephen as he nudged his chin to overtop of the other man's head.

< _ Whatever you need from me Tony, _ > Friday's tail swayed a little excitedly.

< _ Would Levi like to go as well, help you move? _ >

< _ I'm sure I could sweet-talk him into it, _ > there was a low soft bellow as the gold nudged her red companion.

The red made an exaggerated gesture with his head before climbing to his feet with a grumble of his own and making his way to the back of the apartment where he could more easily take off without anyone needing to close the doors behind him. His damaged tail flitted this way and that at first before becoming still again while he hobbled his way to the exit before diving from the edge, followed swiftly by his mate as they headed on their way to the task.

“... Levi’s disappointed, I think,” the red rider chuckled.

Tony tilted his head a little curiously. "Why would he be disappointed?" he balanced the glass, massaging small circles into Stephen's chest.

"If you can't figure that out I'm not sure I should tell you," Stephen laughed, tilting his head to look at Tony. "But if you think about it long enough, I imagine it will come to you..."

The red rider's hands cradled his glass as he sipped at his wine once again, his expression amused.

Tony had to roll his eyes. "I find it hard to imagine he wanted a show," the engineer stated.

He finished off his glass rather quickly before rolling over and straddling Stephen, saddling himself upon the man's lap and smirking.

"You're really nursing that glass there..." he teased softly, a hand running up Stephen's front.

“Oh, should I chug it back? You weren’t exactly specific about what I was supposed to be doing with this,” the red rider grinned in response, finishing the last of the wine off and stretching to put the glass safely aside. 

His hands moved to Tony’s thighs and hips as he wasted no time in grinding up against Tony, thoroughly indulging in the sensation as his eyes flitted closed briefly at the feeling.

"No pressure," he snickered and indulged in those physical sensations as he reached aside to start grasping at some of the gear laid out on the bed. He picked up one of the harnesses and ball gags from the pile and dangled it over his fingers.

"Ready to get dressed?" He quirked a brow and leaned over, pressing an affectionate kiss to his lips.

Stephen smiled warmly at him at that, nudging at his nose slightly. “Shall I stay dressed while you put those on, then? Or did you want me out of all this first…?” he inquired as he gestured at his robes briefly, brushing a hand into Tony’s hair gently. “It might be a challenge to undress me after, but if you’re careful I don’t mind if you decide to just cut them off later…”

His wrists rose between them as the red rider offered them to his partner with a coy smile. “Your choice.”

"Well, I think I'm going to take the chance to peel you like a banana and then doll you all up in leather. Maybe I might strip down or I might just keep everything on and tease the hell out of you." He snickered, his hands immediately going to Stephen's belt and accessories so he could begin the process of disrobing his love.

It took a little finagling but he had the man out of his robes in an ambitious amount of time, pulling the rider's nude form up against his chest and grinding the very erect bulge of his pants against Stephen's back.

"Be a good boy Stephen and behave, or I might have to punish you," he purred into the rider's neck and delicately pulled up the harness around his chest.

“Is that a promise?” the red rider inquired lowly as he adjusted, making it easier for the man to get him adorned to his pleasure. “Or a request? We should probably sort out any ground rules while we deal with getting me properly equipped, hm? My safe word is ‘pineapple’ so we’re clear…”

"Mmm so I can also use that as a nickname for you when we're not playing around in the bedroom, is that right Pineapples?" he chuckled softly, tugging the harness tight around Stephen's midsection before he started strapping on the leather cuffs to his wrists.

“Are you calling me prickly and acidic?” Stephen inquired as he turned his head to glance at Tony. “Because I suppose you’re not wrong, but that would certainly be an odd nickname.” The red rider offered his hands easily, smiling as he watched the man.

"Well, you kind of were when we first met," Tony retorted, delicately bringing the man's hands behind his back and cuffing Stephen around the wrists. 

“Do be careful with those though. My hands lose circulation a little more easily than some, so they don’t need to be too tight.”

"Let me know if that's alright for you," he soothed softly, leaving a good amount of slack on as he did up the buckles and then lightly smoothed his palms over the man's shoulders.

“That’s perfect, thank you,” the red rider smiled, leaning into Tony’s touches. “I’m sorry my back is still healing so that might require being a little careful of as well, but… I’ve been really excited for you to come home.”

The taller rider adjusted to bury his face in against the crook of Tony’s neck, nuzzling and nipping at the flesh there absently. “I didn’t expect this whole moving in thing, though… I must’ve done something really right, but I can’t think of what it is I did. You’ve been away… or did you just miss me, too?”

Tony reached down to cup at the man's blatant hard-on. "Ah, you definitely must be," he teased softly, planting a soft kiss on his forehead as he caged him in against his body. His thumb and palm gently cupped his groin, idly massaging it as he basked in the warmth Stephen's body offered his own. 

"I'd been thinking about how much I missed you, how much I couldn't wait to get back to you… and how lucky I am that you made it out of all this alive," he murmured softly. He eyed the man as if he was a prize, an odd mix of sincerity in his features and impishness. "My tesoro, all mine." 

He gave Stephen's crotch a squeeze, planting another endearing kiss on his temple. "I couldn't be happier that you are moving in with me."

Stephen melted against him with a deep groan, jerking his hips into Tony’s hand wantonly. His forehead pressed against the shorter rider as his hips twitched forward against Tony’s palm. “... are you… was that…  _ Italian _ …?”

"Mmm and what if it was?" Tony reached over to grab what looked like a couple more pieces to Stephen's set. One being a girdle with rings on it, another a collar with a soft faux-fur lining.

He delicately slid the collar around Stephen's neck with both hands, clipping it and pressing another loving kiss to his temple with a satisfied smirk.

"That's... Really sexy?" Stephen admitted, looking sheepish as he accepted the collar with ease.

He sat up a little straighter with the girdle around his waist, his eyes focused on Tony and heated as his erection sat between his knees, easily leaking pre-cum as a testament to his want of Tony.

Tony tilted his head, sitting Stephen up a bit and grabbing his ass once again, the swell malleable under his fingers. 

He nudged the bulge in his pants up against Stephen's nude rear as he smoothed his hands over the rider's arms. Tony then delicately pressed them against his sides as he locked the latches of the cuffs into some leather straps on the harness, limiting the man's movements.

"Hmm, I'd hoped so." He hummed softly, rolling his hips one more time before he hooked an arm around Stephen's waist, holding him flush against his body.

"Bel giocattolo," he chortled softly, running his fingers along the underside of Stephen's cock agonizingly slowly.

The red rider's body melted against him as much as his restraints would allow, the edges cutting into his neck some as his hips rubbed firmly back against the clothed bulge of Tony's dick and forward against his hand in a rather desperate desire for more friction than he was getting. A low moan fled his lips, though Stephen didn't bother to keep it quiet as he tugged his restrained hands lightly to make certain they were well fixed in place.

"Tony," he gasped the gold rider's name like a praise as his eyes flitted closed to indulge entirely in sensation. His chest seemed to rise and fall more quickly with the girdle limiting his stomach's ability to move much, which allowed the straps of his chest harness to cut into the defined pectoral muscles across his chest easily enough.

Tony closed his hands around the tip of Stephen's cock and gave it a gentle tug. He reached for one more article from the significantly reduced pile of gear, tugging out a leather head-mask meant to cover the red rider's eyes.

"I'm going to be gentle with you amore, and then I'm going to teach you how to ride me better than you do your dragon. I can promise it's going to be a bumpy ride." He reached up and delicately strapped the mask around Stephen's eyes, trailing a thumb down the rider's lips and rubbing the pad of his finger into the front of his beard.

A shudder ran through the red rider, though the cause could have been any number of things. A quiet but clear "yes sir," slipped from his lips before he tucked his head just enough to kiss Tony's thumb.

"If your back was in better condition I wouldn't hesitate to make you bite the pillow and fuck you until this damn bed broke in half," Tony's voice was husky as he leaned in close to Stephen's ears and spoke in hushed tones.

"As though I needed more reasons to heal up soon," Stephen added with a deep moan, his hips working hard against the bulge of Tony's pants, eager and excited.

"Mmmm... good boy," Tony responded, sliding his thumb into Stephen's lips who just as happy to oblige. 

He fingered at his lip softly, tracing the exterior before pressing in and probing at the man's tongue. "Give me a little suck, would you, cara."

Stephen opened his mouth to let out another sharply exhaled breath before pursing his lips around Tony's thumb as he wormed it around inside his mouth.

"Before we get down to business, how about I fill that beautiful mouth of yours with my cock, hmm? I'll need a little help getting warmed up over here."

Stephen have a soft affirmation around the thumb in his mouth, not hesitating even slightly to curl his tongue around the intrusion as though intent on showing the gold rider what he was capable of. He left the digit thoroughly wet, not caring whether or not excess saliva dripped over his chin, before tilting his head slightly.

Tony moved his hand down to awkwardly undo his pants, tugging the zipper and peeling back the lip of his pants. He worked his dick out from the band of his underpants until both his cock and balls were out and he removed his finger from Stephen's mouth, only to give the man a brief kiss to taste him.

"How would you like me for that, sir?" he questioned lowly, licking his lips absently.

"Head buried in my crotch, gagging on my dick," he purred playfully and he pushed Stephen down by his shoulder gently so the man could lean over without losing balance.

It took the red rider a little time to adjust, balancing himself with his thighs to the best of his ability as he leaned in and waited with his mouth open and ready. Blindfolded and hands tied as they were there was no real way he was going to be able to safely and appropriately locate Tony’s cock to suck, but he was at least responsive to direction so it wasn’t long before his lips curled around him. Tony drew amusement from watching the man attempt to find him - it was for lack of better words: absolutely adorable - but the red rider’s tongue barely stayed still for a moment, twisting around Tony’s head, and flicking over the slit before the rider steadily sunk himself down.

Stephen’s tongue slowly settled as he used it to guide Tony further into his mouth, his cheeks hollowing out as he sucked and bobbed his head here and there on his ever continuing path downward.

"My, you're quite the talent," Tony's soft compliments came as both of the engineer's hands found Stephen's hair and curled into his scalp.

His stomach swelled with adoration and let out gentle groans and deep exhaled breaths as the other man took him.

He put some weight on Stephen's head, pushing him down and helping him with the tempo of the gesture.

"So your tongue is just as talented as your wit my love, what a good boy," he crooned softly, eyes closed.

The red rider gave an indulgent wet gurgle of a response around Tony’s dick as he slowly moved further on, taking a deep breath before relaxing his throat to bury Tony as deep in his throat as he could take him. Tony was clearly larger than Stephen had anticipated given the way he choked and hesitated partway down, adjusting himself some before continuing until his nose was buried against Tony’s abdomen, nestling into his treasure trail and drooling around his base copiously.

There was only so much more he could do from there, simply allowing Tony to guide him up and down gasping for air every so often as he came up enough before happily burying himself back on the gold rider’s cock.

Tony gave him a gentle pat on the shoulder, holding him still as he attempted to dive back down again onto him.

"Save some for me, love," he stopped Stephen, bringing the man up and dragging him over his body as he leaned back. He positioned Stephen until he was sitting on his hips, just before his cock and seated himself just between the lower part of the rider's cheeks.

"You ready to show me your best?" His hand reached around before Stephen expected it and he buried lubed-up fingers deep into his tight ass. 

Tony almost came from how cute Stephen looked, but he wanted to hear the other make some noise, more-so lived for the other's sweet mewls of surprise.

Stephen gave an unrestrained moan as the finger slipped inside, his hands curling tightly into themselves as he adjusted to the intrusion. “Tony…!” the red rider shuddered in his spot, his thighs and abs working as he rolled his hips back against the fingers to help Tony stretch him, a small, breathless smile playing over his lips as he moved.

Tony had started with one finger and as he felt the man's muscles ease from his ministrations he added in a second, then a third until he was knuckle-deep and had deemed the man well prepped.

The engineer enjoyed the sight of his love at the mercy of his will. Stephen was completely pliant to his touch and it was simply wonderful.

"Mmmm, say it louder. I love to hear that voice of yours screaming my name." He buried his face in the man's chest as he nudged Stephen onto himself with a strong thrust of his fingers.

Stephen’s body arched as he rose and fell on those fingers in a rather erratic manner, attempting - and failing - to bury himself more firmly on Tony’s digits. 

“Please… I want you, Tony. I want you inside… please…” the red rider whimpered softly, rolling his hips down desperately to accomplish his goal, to get those fingers brushing against exactly the right spot, and failing each time with his lack of control over the situation. “Please… I need you…”

"Patience, love," he purred, hushing Stephen with a kiss. He scissored his fingers inside the man, teasing him before he pulled away only to finally cave to the rider's demands.

"You want my big cock inside you? To stuff that ass of yours so full you'll be seeing stars…?" He ground his cock along Stephen's ass, teasing as he hot-dogged the man's cheeks.

"Tell me how bad you want it," he husked impishly.

"I want you," Stephen pleaded, hips working hard against Tony as though he might be able to get him inside on his own. "Please, I want you deep inside of me, I want you to make me yours... Just yours..."

His fingers, long and confined though they were, just barely reached the upper part of his ass but it was enough for him to dig his fingers in to spread his cheeks invitingly. "I want you to fill me, body, mind and soul... Please, Tony..."

"I want to make you mine, I want to fuck you hard and hear your beautiful voice sing in my ears," he crooned, and slowly popped the tip of his cock past the spread muscles as Stephen invited him into that tight warm cinch of muscles.

There was a short snag on the crown of his cock, but as soon as the skin met the lubricant glazing his insides he slid in smoothly, no resistance. He stuffed Stephen until his ass met the gold rider's hips.

Tony was so hard and turned on, twitching anxiously inside Stephen as he held him there, finding the fortitude to pepper some loving kisses around the exposed skin on Stephen's chest. "Mmm you're so warm and  _ fuck _ you’re tight Stephen."

The red rider held nothing back as he gave a deep, low groan at the feeling, taking barely thirty seconds before bouncing his hips just slightly in their spot, not moving too far off before settling back down gently to start, his cock bobbing in its spot and his thighs thick and tense with the effort being put into them. Despite knowing Stephen couldn't hold tightly to things, the man's fingers curled firmly into his hips, leaving indentations in his own flesh as his speed steadily increased and he raised himself further and further up before dropping himself back down again with a louder moan.

"Gods!" Stephen cried out in reverence his mouth open as he panted softly, adjusting his hips in an attempt to find just the right spot. "Tony!"

"It never gets old hearing my name from your beautiful lips il mio tesoro," he crooned softly, five years of dragon-riding and knowing how to deal with a cantering beast showing as he bounced Stephen on his hips with force.

Each mewl and moan was like music to his ears as his fingers dug into the other's thighs and he sat back to watch the transient expressions on his lover's face phase with pleasure.

Stephen was slack-jawed as Tony plowed into him. He'd had his own rhythm, to begin with, but had soon gotten lost in the activity. Tony was definitely feeling the buildup threatening to spill over and knock him over the edge but he held out to watch his love in all his beautiful glory. It had been a while and it showed. Certainly pleasuring oneself was much different than the actual act and Tony had that at his disadvantage.

There was no denying the red rider’s fitness as his legs barely quivered with his counter-motion, his stomach contracting with his movements and showing off the man’s toned muscles, highlighted with a light sheen of sweat. His body was working hard and it was a sight to behold as Stephen’s legs shook suddenly and a scream tore from his lips.

“Th-there!” Stephen declared, his voice raw and broken as he continued to hit that spot, his body utterly wracked with shudders as his cock steadily oozed precum.

Tony kept both hands on Stephen's thighs to brace his descent with each dredge into his ass. He continued to bounce the rider on his hips, striking his prostate with each thrust letting his jaw hang slack as he breathed out with each rut.

He felt the cool wet sting of Stephen's pre-cum on his stomach as his abdomen tightened with anticipation. He braced himself as he made attempts to hold back but it wouldn't be long and he crushed himself into Stephen's ass with each rough blow.

"Fuck almost there, god your so freaking tight. You're going to kill me," he rasped, eyes having fallen shut so he could completely engage in the activity.

Stephen bit his lip briefly, quivering in his spot as his hands tightened into fists and his stomach tensed further. “T-Tony… I… m-may I…?” The sentence refused to cooperate even after the red rider released his lip, whimpering in his spot and clearly holding back.

"Let go, my love, don't you dare hold back. Cum for me babe, right on my chest," he purred, knocking his hips with ramming speed into the poor red rider's ass. 

He crushed Stephen’s hips down into his cock, hands tensing into the other's thighs as his body twitched and tensed, craning his head back to let out a loud moan of pleasure as he filled his lover with hot cum.

"-fuck," it seemed that they were both at their limits.

The red rider was barely seconds behind, his muscles tensing and tightening around Tony as the orgasm washed over him, leaving long ropes of cum to stain Tony’s clothing. His body shook and trembled as he cried out Tony’s name before bonelessness took over and the man simply slumped forward, squishing cum between their bodies and soaking his own sweat into Tony’s garments. His breaths came in short pants, as his face buried itself in the pillow just beside Tony’s head, his muscles continuing to spasm here and there with the tiniest remnants of cum spurting from his trapped dick.

He was saying something, though the murmurs were slurred together and lost in the pillow he’d buried his face in - it wasn’t hard to imagine the meaningful nothings that they were.

A pair of strong, warm arms were around the red rider, squeezing his spent form against his body. Tony let out a breathy sigh into the side of Stephen's head and turned to press his nose into his hair.

"I think that was well worth the wait," he mumbled quietly. "I love you so much my Tesoro," he added, resting in the afterglow and completely ignoring the sticky mess between them.

Something muffled was his response before Stephen turned his head and unburied it from the pillow, nuzzling against Tony’s side and pressing a breathless, slightly awkward, dry-lipped kiss to Tony’s jaw. “Thank you…” he whispered, his voice cracked and raw as he tried to wiggle in as close as he could manage.

Tony's hands were at the clasps on Stephen's cuffs, unclipping his wrists so he could have his freedom once more. His palms soon slid back around the other's waist and he pressed into the kiss, inserting his tongue and getting entirely swept away with the lip lock.

The red rider’s arms immediately curled around Tony to hold him close, his hands trembling rather dramatically as he did. He let out a low grown at Tony’s suggestion as he nestled closer, not seeming to mind the rest of his decorations. 

"Mmm, so what do you say we get you cleaned up and tucked into bed, maybe have a glass of tea with that and relax?" he purred softly, pulling away to get his little proposal out.

“... that… sounds like I have to move…” Stephen lamented quietly, holding tightly to the gold rider as though to keep him in place.

"Not if I do the honours," he smiled, scooping Stephen up and carrying him over towards the bathroom. He had a wide grin on his face as he managed to lean over and set the faucet's temperature, sitting down on the side of the tub as he waited for the basin to fill.

“This is still moving…! Are you going to take all of this off before you dump me in the water?” the red rider grumbled softly, “or am  _ I _ allowed to take it off? It’s not exactly waterproof…”

"One thing at a time, love," Tony teased and he started to hook in fingers through the different pieces of leather attire and unbuckle them. Tugging straps through before undoing the clasps and discarding the different articles to the tiled floor.

"I'd rather do it here than make more of a mess than we already have - as much as I enjoy it."

As Stephen’s eyes were freed he winced slightly and blinked a few times rapidly to adjust to the light, before taking in Tony’s appearance and giving a little smirk as he did. “... your clothes are going to need a good cleaning, too, but I doubt they spared you from needing a bath.”

His hands shook as they moved to his wrists, carefully rubbing at them as much as he could. His formerly shallow breaths grew steadily deeper once the harness and cinch were removed, and the red rider was clearly taking his time to get used to his body having a free range of movement again.

Tony worked off the rest of the restraints and by that time the water had filled the tub to a good amount at a perfectly measured temperature.

"No, and don't think I wouldn't hop in there with you all the same regardless," he mumbled softly, planting a kiss on Stephen's shoulder as he secured his arms around him and lifted the rider over the side of the tub to gently set him down into the water.

Tony made quick work of scrapping his own clothing, stripping entirely into the nude. He hopped in beside him, the basin was big enough for the two of them to sit side-by-side and rather than immediately going to start cleaning himself he procured one of Stephen's hand and began to pepper soft little kisses along the scars on his digits.

Stephen flinched at the touch at first, his fingers curling as though he might withdraw from Tony before he slowly relaxed and simply leaned forward a bit in the bath. With the damage and raw scars on his back, it only made sense that he didn’t lean against the edge of the basin, and he still winced every now and then when the hot water hit certain areas of his back, but he smiled softly at Tony as he watched the man’s attentive kisses.

“Tony. I… really missed you. I’m glad you’re back…”

Tony's heart swelled, he momentarily stopped trailing those kisses with the soft expression of sentiment and looked up at Stephen's face as the man peered down at him with equal amounts of love written plain on his features.

"Every day, I've been thinking about you, every hour. I was thinking about when I'd be able to come home and treat you like my queen," there was an impish grin and his thumb grazed over his knuckles tenderly. "It's nice to be back, here with you."

The taller man gave him a look of confusion for a long moment before simply smiling at him. “I think anyone would be lucky to be treated as well as you treat Friday,” he stated finally, before adjusting to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder. 

“I love you,” Stephen finally added, closing his eyes. “Thank you for indulging me in all of this… I don’t know if it’s really your thing or whatnot but… we can always talk about these things more and determine what you’re interested in, and what you’re not… create boundaries and the like. Make sure everyone’s getting the most out of things and is comfortable.”

"If it makes you happy, it makes me happy. I don't think I really need to overextend myself on this to meet any sort of compromise. I may not be in deep into the whole activity but there's room for you to teach me, and I'm really just happy to spend time with you. I'd worship the ground you walked on if it made you happy, Stephen." Tony sighed contentedly and brought his arms fully around Stephen's shoulders to hold him close.

“I hope we’re both clear that it definitely would not make me happy if you worshipped the ground I walked on. I appreciate that you have ideas that are different from mine, it means we have more perspectives as leaders with which to handle things as they come up. I feel more confident as a leader knowing you’re at my side…” Stephen murmured as he cuddled in closer to the gold rider. “I feel like… I can finally breathe again, in a way I haven’t been able to for years…”

Tony couldn't help but let out a boisterous laugh at the comment. His knuckles rubbed along the side of Stephen's ribcage as he tilted his cheek down to rest on the red rider's forehead.

"It sounds like you've had a lot on your shoulders until now. I'm glad I could at least help you shoulder some of that burden."

“You help me in a lot more ways than that… but I’m grateful. Immensely grateful for you, Tony… I’ve been falling apart for years. Finally, I feel like I’m standing on stable ground… like something’s holding me together again. I didn’t expect that. I expected a lot of you from the get-go, but… I didn’t expect to feel like this. To feel… whole again, in ways. Of course, saying all of this is meant to be a thank you, not a pressure. If it ever happens that this relationship isn’t something that we’re both getting something good out of…” Stephen hesitated a moment, “no matter what, I want you to do what makes you happy, and what’s good for you.”

Tony gave Stephen another squeeze, he bumped his forehead against the other rider's and nodded softly.

"I can't honestly imagine a life without you, in a world by my side given the shoes we now need to fill. A lot is weighing on both of us and it's not been easy. I'm glad I have you, and I don't plan on ever letting go." His eyes were closed, focusing on the warmth that radiated between their touch.

"At least we know we have each other's interests at heart," he cackled jovially.

“Is that where we have each other’s interests?” Stephen mused with a low chuckle of his own, settling in against Tony and closing his eyes as the other began to gently wash him clean. 

The gold rider considered simply putting Stephen to bed and letting him rest on his own, but there was something in the way the drowsy red rider curled his fingers around Tony’s as he began to pull away that made the thought nearly impossible. So when Friday and Levi finally returned once again they did so to the sight of their riders curled up around and entangled in each other, limbs intertwined and heads tucked together, with wet hair drying on the pillows.


	13. Chapter 13

The following day came and the new sets of armour were put to the test. Mjolnir and Widow were outfitted with the two new suits and were sent out with drones and cameras to ground zero. Both armours were tried and true against the substance in controlled trials but now would really be the test of strength for both suits. 

The dragons were on-route to their destination, they were to fly there without the use of blinking given that the method of travel was currently unreliable. Both riders reached their destination at the same time despite their dramatic differences in size - as planned to make certain neither dragon was alone on site - hovering over the now immensely swollen portal. Unlike before, there were fields of tentacles surrounding it, so many that they couldn't even get close to the core, but that wouldn't stop them from testing the waters.

All they needed to do was make sure that the tentacles couldn't erode through the plating - a simple feat, in theory.

There were a few instructions they’d been given specifically, and as one of the largest and one of the smallest dragons in the Sanctum respectively, it allowed for a good range of testing, though there was a lot to be considered about the fact that each dragon was using a different material.

“It should have been two greens,” Stephen sighed softly as he watched them approach. “They’re more maneuverable and there are more of them. Being down a green dragon won’t cause as much of an issue as having a red dragon drop…”

Tony knew well enough that Stephen trusted in the work he and Bruce had done so the words weren’t coming out of a lack of faith in them so much as in a general fear for the people of the Sanctum. He also knew well enough to anticipate that Stephen didn’t want  _ any _ of the dragons to drop. 

He had a point, in that there were very few red dragons compared to the rather large amount of greens in general, and as maneuverable as greens were for their comparatively smaller size red dragons were stronger, faster and more durable overall. This was just a test, not the actual full-scale battle that they expected would still come after the armour was tested, and the red dragons could make all the difference in that battle.

Stephen was thinking ahead. They both had to.

“Thor wanted to do this,” Tony reminded him. “He wants to be one of the main leads on the assault when we do it. He wants to prove his worth on this scale.”

“We’re still risking a red, and I don’t like it,” Stephen shook his head as he looked between the screens. “The only thing I need him to prove is that he has restraint and isn’t going to take risks. This still feels like taking a risk.”

Neither Levi nor Friday could fit into the surveillance room, but while the dragons sunbathed that didn’t mean the Sanctum leaders were alone in their observations. Steve had military training and given that they didn’t know whether or not Levi would be capable of flying point in the battle Steve seemed like the next most sensible option to lead the assault - plus, Natasha and Widow were part of Steve’s wing. He was worried, and they knew it. Tony, in particular, was aware of how deeply Steve cared for his wing and their dragons.

“We’re risking four of our number on this task for the sake of saving many more lives,” the other red rider pointed out. “I don’t like risking anyone, but they chose this and we need to respect that they’re doing it and why they’re doing it.”

"Either way, we are down riders if anyone was to be sent in there without some form of protection. There's no risk to this, and I wouldn't put any of our riders in the line of danger if I didn't think they had the proper protection or were capable," Tony assured as he looked at Stephen with a determined look.

Both dragons and their riders were nearly at their destination with the drones. Each had stopped in front of the massive purple blemish which had spread exponentially to an alarming rate. Though, this was no time for panic as the waves of the sea almost looked like a field of Kraken arms.

"We're here and Mjolnir is ready," Thor vouched as his dragon hovered restlessly in the teflon plated armour.

"Widow is ready here as well, on your word," the green rider responded, determined from her spot.

"Alright, I want you guys to brush up against one of those tentacles, use some dragonfire but don't get caught. We just want to test the durability of the armour. Under no circumstance are you to put yourselves in harm's way and if you don't feel comfortable going through with it, no one will be upset if you feel the need to turn back," Tony's voice came through on both of their earpieces.

“I’ve seen scarier things in hentai, gold leader. Nothing here that frightens me,” Natasha chimed cheekily as she fed her ride a couple of firestones before Widow dove in. “Promise we’ll be careful!” she added more seriously as the green began to dive and twist through and around a couple of smaller tentacles. 

Seeing her was challenging amidst the entities, though they were clearly trying to grasp at her. Blue-white spouts of flame were a good indicator of her presence, though, and there was no doubting she knew what she was doing. 

Natasha was a perfect choice given how quick and nimble both she and Widow were in flight - they danced through the sky in a beautiful unison before diving right back down and in, with Natasha laughing softly to herself when the tentacles got a bit tangled in their pursuit of her. Widow’s wing dragged along the surface of the water for the moment when the green rider let out a small hiss before the two swiftly cleared the area back into the designated safe zone.

“Yikes, the aerogel is getting a little hot boys, just so we’re clear. I’ll need a haircut after this, I think I got singed…”

Beside Tony, Stephen simply smiled at that, shaking his head some as Widow spouted out a small victory flame.

“Alright Thor, you’re up,” Stephen instructed lowly, even as Tony shook his head at Natasha’s antics as well.

“You’re going to make me grey prematurely, Nat,” Steve stated clearly and the woman responded with a melodic laugh.

"With pleasure! Here we go," Thor reached down and fed the beast a firestone before Mjolnir flapped his wings excitedly and took off.

With just as much power and grace, the rider and his red dragon soared circles around the invading purple tentacles. The fire was aimed at the base of the tentacles near the swell of purple and the tendrils incinerated.

Thor and his dragon managed to push a bit of the portal back but it was only so much before the entity became irritated and seriously began to fight back against him. Tendrils attempted to grapple them, this way and that until one finally grabbed hold of Mjolnir and in a flurry of clawing and scratching the dragon broke free and unhindered, the armour unaffected by the creature's touch.

Tony cheered as the dragons moved away from the portal, not a scratch on either of them.

"Alright guys, that's a wrap. Let's return home, you guys did great." Thor reached down to pat the drake on the neck, nodding to Natasha and Widow as the two fell back into formation to head back to the Sanctum.

Stephen cut his com as he looked at Tony with a smile, clearly considerably relieved by the results as he reached to press a soft kiss to his forehead. He offered a hand to Steve as the two red riders exchanged small smiles - Steve’s a little weak, but accepting regardless of the affection on display - before the blond made his way out of the room. He could be heard calling on Howler before the door closed, leaving Stephen to give Tony a sheepish look at first, before smiling warmly.

Tony accepted the gesture, a hand around Stephen's waist as he leaned into the kiss. He easily tilted his head up towards Stephen to steal his own peck, nibbling lightly at his lower lip.

“You and Bruce make a good team. We’ll see how everything fared once they return, but so far everyone seems to be okay…”

"We really do, as soon as we figure out the results of the test I can send word and all the statistics to Bruce back in New York and we can get to work manufacturing the armour for the rest of the dragons.

"If both suits end up working just as well as the other then it's just going to boil down to which is the lightest or more versatile of the two so they don't hinder the dragons when they fly."

“Will things be easy enough to assemble here? Each of the dragons has a slightly different size and proportion. If it’s simply run through mass production, then it’s unlikely to fit each of them appropriately regardless,” Stephen responded thoughtfully as he looked at the screens again and shut them off, heading out of the room with his arm curling around Tony’s waist. “But if each of them is measured and fit it’s going to take considerably longer and put more people at risk in the meantime…”

"Each of the armour sets will be made as a one-size-fits-all for the specific classification of dragon. Pieces can be added and removed to lessen or extend the armour sets but some of the armour pieces should easily be able to adjust to fit around all dragons ranging within their types." 

The engineer grinned, letting out a soft chortle. "Surely that has to be the least of your worries with this project.”

“Making sure that things are made quickly and efficiently enough to keep dragons and their riders alive is definitely a worry. The longer we have to wait the more damage there is to civilians, but it’s also my responsibility -  _ our  _ responsibility - to make sure that we give the members of this Sanctum a fighting chance. I don’t know if we’ll get reinforcements with blinking off the table, and the ocean being an impossible distance for the dragons to cross without a rest.” Stephen shook his head, running a hand into his hair.

"We're working on things as fast as we can, we'll have a lot more than simply injured riders to worry about if we don't get this done properly, a lot is riding on this project pulling through including the well being of everyone. Honestly, if this doesn't work I really don't know what will, but I'm trying to stay positive on this here." Tony rubbed his beard in thought, an idea striking him.

"I'm wondering if flight stabilizers will help with the dragon's fatigue. Given we only have one shot at this, I want to make sure we do it right and that we don't have dragons dropping from the skies due to fatigue."

"I don't know that there's enough time to train them in using something like that. The blues and greens might benefit from it, but they've been trained to alternate for fatigue as well, and they’re at least close enough to shore to allow for resting," the red rider shook his head. "There shouldn't be any reason for them to drop if they're making swaps."

"Then I won't worry about it. I'll send word to Bruce and we can have those suits for the dragons completed within a few days each. We just need to make sure the Sanctum has enough dragonfire to spare. Dragons and riders alike will be outfitted in these suits as well so we will have to make sure that everyone is ready to go in three days," Tony nodded with a determined smile.

“I have people already set to the task of mining firestone to make sure we’re at capacity. If we’ll be ready for a first push in at least in three days then I’ll make sure everyone’s ready…” Stephen gave a small sigh at that, though, frowning. It didn’t take much to be clear about what that face was for, however, and Stephen clarified quickly enough.

“Levi… probably won’t be able to fly in that time. I don’t like the idea of sending out the majority of the Sanctum on this and not being able to do my job in leading them… and with Friday’s state, she simply can’t be risked that way. I don’t like asking them to risk themselves on something and not being able to be there with them…”

Tony regarded Stephen with an apologetic look.

"We still have the resources from Stark Industries at our disposal, if we need - we can both go out there in one of the jets the company owns, they travel faster than dragons and take up almost no fuel. At least you can oversee things. Without Levi and without Friday there's not really much we can do," Tony paused. "There's also importance in being here to take care of everything, the Sanctum still calls for order and management and we can't have everyone gone out to battle this thing while there's still potential for things to go awry here. If you want, I can stay behind, and you can take the jet, Bruce and Hulk could bring it here."

“I won’t be any more use to them in a jet than I will from the command center here. I just have to trust that Steve and Thor have got this, as much as I dislike it. I’d certainly rather you stayed here given that any threat to you is a threat to Friday as well, but I can’t stop you from doing what you want… Just promise you’ll keep yourself safe.”

* * *

Two days passed before a familiar guest was brought into the Sanctum, with Hela passing along the announcement to Friday in short order. Luckily dragons proved to be considerably better at telephone than humans.

< _ Tony? James Rhodes is here to see you. It seems urgent. He’s also brought some of the armour, per Bruce’s instructions, so it may be an idea to send some of the greens to gather that as well. Hela says she doesn’t know where you want it all. _ >

< _ You can tell Hela to drop it off near the lower plateaus, _ > Tony stood, nodded to Stephen who'd been talking to Levi to organize the smaller group of riders to be sent out. He was making sure that the riders were well-versed in their tasks for the first run.

"Rhodey, it's nice to see you again - how have you been holding up? Has the old man had an aneurysm yet from all of this? That would be nice..." Tony chuckled softly, letting Rhodes go.

"Things back with your old man are getting a little unbearable, I brought the armour - I figured I should warn you Stark plans on 'sending backup' today and you guys need to be careful not to get caught in the crossfire if he does plan to do anything loopy."

Tony furrowed his brows "I told him we were going in to do recon and check out the perimeter - We have this under control, backup is the dragons we are sending in."

"Right, but he's getting impatient and he obviously doesn't trust you on this," Rhodey shook his head.

"Tell him we'll have this."

"As much as I enjoy the game of broken telephone Tones, your riders need to be careful out there, Howard's been a little off his wire lately."

To his credit, Rhodey neither flinched nor became too terribly distracted when Friday joined him, accompanying her wobbly mate, though he seemed to give the injured red dragon a rather concerned look, tilting his head some as he spotted the marks around the dragon’s tail. 

Levi flopped down in his spot with a yawn and nestled against Friday’s side as she lowered her head to sniff at the man, drawing from the affectionate feelings Tony had for his friend and finding herself curious. Levi simply watched the man, from his spot, making a soft grumbling noise of greeting.

“... okay, they’re a lot bigger than I thought,” Rhodey finally stated, hushing as he shifted his feet nervously at Levi’s yawn. “The thing out there… it did that to his tail, huh? Man, and I always thought dragon scales were some of the hardest stuff out there.”   
  
“They’re one of the hardest organic substances out there, but organic substances are uniquely vulnerable to certain corrosives, apparently,” Tony shook his head. “I’ll let the others know to be careful, but if Howard jeopardizes the lives of my riders or their dragons, we’re going to have more than just words. If he’s risking lives, he’s an idiot.”

“I did tell him as much. I also told the military as much. They seem to be of the impression that giving the dragons backup will be beneficial to both of you, forgetting that Howard is something of a glory hound. The vehicles being sent as back-up are unmanned, however, so you should be fine to take them down if they’re causing issues.”

"We are sending in a company of greens, they are still formidable but they are definitely not our best line of defence. They are spry and crafty, great at recon just as their riders, but if anything were to happen to any of my brood because of faulty testing, Howard would both hear words and have to deal with a lawsuit. Despite all of this, Sanctums are still protected under the heritage and native species act, I'm confident that he won't fuck things up there or he'll have more than me to deal with," Tony frowned.

"You know Stark never played by the rules, Tones. Let's just hope you're right," Rhodey seemed to culture an air of uncertainty which bothered Tony, but there wasn't much more than faith he could put in his comrade.

Faith that in the end, everything would go according to plan and hopefully everything would come through without any bumps in the road.

Faith, however, only did so much for him.

The greens were slowly being suited up, various riders chatting amidst themselves about the plan ahead and each green dragon and rider duo assigned to a team. Each of the ten teams was comprised of around twelve participants, with leaders chosen amongst themselves. The leaders all were in easy communication with one another and with the Sanctum proper, and with their dragons all armoured, each helping another get their attire ready, the small company of dragons was ready to go.

Stephen quietly greeted a couple of the green riders before they took off, during which time Loki cheerfully paraded his way over to Tony, giving him an exaggerated sigh. “You couldn’t have made this armour any more fashionable, could you? I look like I’m going to war, and not in the cute camo way.”

"Oh don't worry about it, at least this way you can live out the fantasy of being someone's knight in shining armour," Tony flashed Loki a grin. This earned him a look from Stephen.

"I can always be your knight and shining armour," Loki wiggled his brows at the both of them.

Stephen shook his head.

"Stay safe out there, don't overextend yourself and stick to the plan," Stephen clapped a hand down on Loki's shoulder and he got that trademark smile right back in return. 

"Who do you think I am, some trouble-maker?" the raven-haired man teased and he hopped on the back of his dragon, Hela canting her armoured neck as she flapped her wings anxiously. "I shall return with stories of success! We will slay this foul beast for you." The green accentuated his statement with a bellow before stomping her feet and taking to the skies to join the rest of the green flock.

The sound of a hundred and twenty dragons taking off at once was thunderous and made no quieter by the dragons left behind who trumpeted their well-wishes to their comrades as they rose into the air and began to make their way towards the coast. It would be a good four hours before the greens arrived, given their need to stop and rest in between, but they were trained and prepared to cycle through attack shifts against this thing.

There were a lot of variables at play - unknown elements that seemed to leave Stephen fretful enough as he ran an agitated hand through his hair, watching the greens disappear into the distance. They couldn’t do much about their lack of knowledge regarding Howard’s intentions, and despite Stephen’s reading, he hadn’t found anything to better indicate what the creature or creatures they were facing were. What they did know was minimal - it hadn’t been exposed when Howard’s missiles hit the area and seemed to do no damage, it was capable of producing slime and gas that could burn through dragon scales and human skin, it had many appendages that seemed reasonably dexterous and mobile, and it seemed to be tied in to the blinking realm.

They were running on a lot of assumptions about their enemy, however, and Stephen seemed thoroughly unsettled by that as his hand finally moved to wrap around Tony’s gently, giving him a light squeeze. “We should make sure everything’s set up in the command room. Get food and drinks, everything we need to settle in for a long while.”

Before Tony could respond to the suggestion, a small bronze lizard perched on his shoulder and gave a chirping noise, announcing the arrival of the rest of the flock of fire lizards - and Peter.

“ _ Wow!  _ That was amazing! Are they going to get the shoreline back?” the youth inquired animatedly, stepping up beside Tony with a hand on his brow to shield his eyes from the sun while he watched the green spots in the distance.

There was as much enthusiasm in the young brood keeper's voice as anything and as dire as the situation was, Tony did have to flash a smile, returning the soft squeeze to Stephen as they were mobbed by the roving pack of fire-lizards.

At least three of them took up residence on Stephen's shoulders, skittering along his shoulders and hanging off of the collar of his tunic by the hooked dew-claws on their wings, while others settled to stay airborne and another couple landed on Tony's now extended arm. The queen, as always, staying with Peter on his shoulder and just as spiritedly contributing her on chirps and squeaks to the excitement.

"They sure are, if you want to come to watch, maybe you could learn a thing or two?" Tony regarded Stephen as if asking him for some sort of approval on the matter as though he needed it and Stephen slowly nodded.

"Whoa, really? That would be amazing! Can I hear about the awesome plan of attack?! What are the greens going to do?" The questions came out rapid-fire as the youth looked to the elder riders.

"It's going to take a while for them to reach the shore, but they are going to do a recon and a perimeter check to test our plan out. Hopefully, they can neutralize the spread best-case scenario. The stronger riders will go in for the full mission the following day so we know exactly what we're up against." Stephen nodded his head in the direction of the command room. "Come, Peter, you can help us organize. An extra pair of helping hands is always appreciated," Stephen pressed one of his fingers to a tiny dragon on his shoulder and it purred, rubbing up against it.

Peter’s bright smile might’ve outshone the sun at that as the couple and their dragons made their way towards the command center. Stephen requested Friday fetch some of the food from the canteen and the gold gave a little grumble of affirmation before taking off to do that swiftly enough.

As the lizards that were still airborne got tired they settled on the red dragon who laid himself down in a patch of grass outside the command room, and with the colourful collection of lizards sparkling all over him he looked rather like someone had decorated him - a massive red, dragon-shaped Christmas tree, complete with tiny dragon ornaments that flitted from perch to perch. Peter’s gold remained on his shoulder, seeming to snub the idea of moving, even as the others moved from shoulders to various perches on Levi.

“Is he okay with that? He’s not going to just… I dunno, eat one, right?” Peter inquired after a moment, “I mean, none of the dragons have hurt them so far, but I don’t want them to pester him too much, either…”

“Don’t worry about it, Pete,” Tony chuckled softly, patting his head. “Dragons aren’t cannibalistic, and your little friends are dragonkin. Plus, Levi’s a big sweetheart. And he seems to prefer eating goats.”

“He definitely likes goats,” Stephen agreed, “and big wheels of cheese, which he probably shouldn’t eat but no one’s stopped him so far and he loves it too much for me to prevent him from eating cheese.”

Levi gave a soft whine at that, though it cut off when a couple of the lizards decided to inspect his open maw, leaving him sitting there with his mouth open as he waited for the lizards to move away. An altogether ridiculous sight that ended when the dragon huffed out a breath that sent the lizards skittering away. Stephen chuckled softly at that, and the display seemed to settle Peter’s uncertainty.

“Oh man, I didn’t know dragons ate cheese. These guys like hunting birds, mice, and rats more than anything.”

Friday had taken off to fetch some orders Tony had called in, perched outside the canteen patiently as she waited for Pepper to bring out a couple of baskets and bottles requisitioned by the group.

Meanwhile Tony ushered Peter into the comm room to show him around. Despite the old rustic architecture of the Sanctum, it was surprisingly undermined by the screens and technology. Multiple LED monitors lined the front wall of the comm room while another wall had a massive window overlooking the entire Sanctum.

Half of the monitors had go-pro style views of a good handful of the green's perspectives, while others were drones that flew beside. Some were already stationed out near the creature to monitor using Stark Industries satellite technology while there were a few more that showed mapping coordinates and the progress of the green's flight. The room had been completely outfitted for the mission, a drop in the sea of what Stark Industries had to offer but it helped none-the-less.

Peter seemed to be captivated by the sheer amount of technology in the room. Sure, the boy probably had a computer before he was displaced, a phone too, but it might have been the most advanced technology he'd seen in his life all clustered in one place.

"Dragons ETA is about three and a half, they are all making very good time," Tony pointed to the drones feed and then to the purple swell in the ocean. "They will be going there to test out dragonfire on the perimeter, a first attempt at trying to gain control over the spread and if we are lucky enough - to even push it back," Tony looked over to Stephen quickly as he was busy setting up the tables, some blankets and cases of water in the corner.

"With the big mission coming up soon, we need eyes on the situation at all times. We really don't have the option of letting this thing get out of control," he trailed off, walking over to Stephen to take some of the water cases and set them on the table.

"What will happen if you guys can't contain it?" Peter's meek voice questioned.

"We don't know, Peter, as we said, it's not an option at this point," Stephen added, handing things off to Tony and the youth skipped over to also lend a hand.

"At the very least there will be hell to pay from my old man, and that's barely the worst of it. I don't want to think about this thing getting out of hand since no modern technology seems to hamper it." Tony sighed, some dread seeping through his voice.

“How come the dragons are flying all the way there instead of teleporting?” Peter inquired lowly, “wouldn’t that be faster? Conserve energy?”

“Whatever this thing is… it seems to occupy the space between blinks,” Stephen explained, to his credit not treating the teenager like a child or talking down to him as he spoke - and Peter was attentive.

“ _ Between _ blinks?”

“Ah, I suppose you’ve never been in that space. Do your little ones blink as well?” Stephen inquired as he glanced at the teen and watched him nod.

“Sometimes. They haven’t lately. Something seems to have spooked them - is that the thing you were talking about? It would explain why they haven’t been doing that, lately…” Peter tilted his head a little, glancing at his little queen and watching her grumble along as though she understood. “But if it gets out of hand… what does that mean? I mean, I’ve been seeing a lot of desiccated fish and the like along the shores already… and Levi’s tail is… I mean, if something can do that to dragon scales, then what would it do to everything else…?”

"It would mean nothing good for anything on this planet. I doubt there is anything that it wouldn't dissolve or eat through and the more we observe this thing, the more it feels like a virus or parasite just consuming everything it touches. The only thing it can't seem to eat through is liquids, and to our experiments, Aerogel and Teflon materials. We haven't further found out any other counters." Tony sighed.

"This is something that puts all life as we know it in peril, even the dragons and their methods of travel. If the dragons can't blink then it makes it difficult for us to respond and travel. It jeopardizes all of us in the end and that goes without saying. Levi almost didn't make it out of there, and I would have been in the same position," Stephen seemed to shiver.

"The little ones do blink... is this something I need to be concerned about? Could they be in trouble?!" Peter seemed a little panicked.

“If they haven’t been blinking recently, then there’s probably little cause for concern,” Stephen soothed the boy, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “If they sense a problem then it’s likely they’ll avoid it and avoid making attempts to blink. They have their own instincts. They’re smart creatures, rather like you,” the red rider added with a chuckle as Peter batted at his hands and the small gold lizard nipped at his finger gently in a warning.

Friday arrived soon enough and they finished their preparations as the greens continued their trek, pausing briefly for rests together, before taking to the skies again on their way. The last hour was the most stressful, all of them sitting quietly and watching the monitors intently - Steve and Thor had joined them, both concerned about members of their own wings who had gone out on this task, and Thor deeply concerned for his brother. It was the most solemn Tony had ever seen the man.

Every so often the red riders would bicker amongst themselves over tactics before Tony butted in to shut them up and remind them that the plan was already in motion and adjustment of tactics at this point would just confuse the company of dragons, and their riders.

“New York Sanctum, this is Brunnhilde, can you hear me?” a voice chimed over the speakers, and as the group seated in the comms room looked up it was clear why she’d reached out. The company had arrived.

“We read you loud and clear, Brunn. How are the dragons holding out?” Tony piped up as Thor stepped closer to check his wingmate's camera.

“Everyone’s fine. We took a longer break half an hour out to make sure everyone’s rested. I’ll be leading the first five through rounds and switching off with Natasha in an hour and a half. We’re ready to move on your orders.”

"Move when ready, the safety of the flight is paramount - make sure your riders don't overextend and if you need to fall back and swap out don't hesitate." Tony leaned over as he craned his neck to look up at the screen.

"Alright, copy that, we're going in." The drone showed the greens stretching their wings before taking off, each dragons flying towards the direction of the sea.

There was silence in the room as the wing leaders seemed to idly exchange glances, Thor picking up one of the bottles of water and dipping into some of the food that Friday had brought from the canteen. A long, drawn out silence followed by more drawn out silences hung over the room like a veil. Peter was the first to speak up at the sight of the purple swell in the ocean and the tentacles.

"W-what is that?! Is that really the thing?" Peter almost seemed petrified as the water seemed to be almost completely purple. Odd purple orbs and bubbles seemed to hover above the water closer to the epicentre of the swell while tentacles seemed to be the first line of defence, closer to the edges.

Tony was too focused on the television and the comms to respond and Stephen walked over, putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Load your dragons up and advance when ready. Just as we talked about, get in there and burn the edges - then get out once you're out of dragonfire." Tony cued the communicator, eyes darting between all the screens.

"We are starting with the tentacles." The voice came in through the com and Tony nodded.

"On your mark."

“We’re a go,” Brunnhilde responded as the dragons made their way forward, gathered into five distinctive groups.

“It’s been growing,” Stephen stated lowly to Tony as he settled Peter, who was determined that he wasn’t about to be shooed out of the room. “That’s about four times as large as it was last time,” he added with a small frown.   
  
“It’s not too much larger than it was when Natasha and I were there testing, but I don’t like the look of how many military vehicles are circling the area. That’s twice what was there last time,” Thor assures them with a deep frown. “And they’re crowding the area too much. It’s going to present issues for maneuverability.”

“Can we reach out to them to try and ask for space?” Steve inquired as he leaned in closer for a better look at one of the monitors.

“They’re not all military. Not exactly. The ones marked ‘Stark’ are drones that Howard felt the need to send. They’re unmanned,” Stephen sighed softly.

"I'm trying, but the call isn't going through, none of those vehicles are accepting communication requests," Tony looked back at the group with a frustrated look.

The dragons lined up and on Brunnhilde's mark, the greens let loose a wall of dragonfire. The tentacles made contact with the flames and immediately disintegrated, letting out a sickly high pitched scream as they turned to ash.

"Keep going, we're pushing it back!" The leader instructed and another wall of fire rained down. The purple swell in the water almost twitched before it started to slowly move backwards, almost as if the edges of the portals were being burned away.

"It's working, it's actually working," Peter exclaimed as he looked at the screen. The dragons began to fan out around the perimeter, scorching the dark purple sections of the water. The beast seemed to retract faster then before, shrinking as if curling in on itself. Its size had shrivelled up significantly, bolstering the riders as they pressed forward.

Any defensive lashes or tentacles that tried to hit or knock the dragons were easily dodged, or the gas emitted had no effect on the armour.

Immediately a light in the comm room began blinking and Tony looked at the alert. 

"What the-" Tony looked over at Stephen, one of the radars had picked up a missile inbound.

Stephen’s eyes met his for a moment and there was concern there. _Fear._ “... is that…?”

“What’s going on?” Peter asked and Thor’s expression echoed it at first. Steve seemed to be the only other person in the room fully aware of what was going on.

“Peter, I need you to go find your aunt, now,” the blond stated quietly and despite Peter’s protests he was ushered out the door, leaving Steve to close it behind him, turning to give the others a serious look. “A missile? Is he trying to use our forces as  _ bait _ for this thing?”

“What do you mean a missile?” Thor turned on him, his eyes narrowing, “my brother is out there!”

“Loki’s not the only one out there who matters, Thor,” Steve pointed out and the taller blond gave a terse nod at that.

“I know that! I’m not an idiot! But-”

“Calm down,” Stephen’s voice rose above the pair, sounding calm, to his credit, despite the fact that his trembling hands gave away his own anxiety. He turned to face Tony again. “Can it be called off, or do we need to get them to evacuate the area?”

Tony frantically tried different codes in order to try and open some line of communication, but there was no success.

"Get them out of there immediately, everyone out,  **now!** " Tony yelled into the microphone and the greens scattered. It was a cacophony of dragon cries, wings flitting this way and that. One of the drones managed to get knocked out by a panicking dragon while another one of the go-pros was knocked into the water where it sunk into the deep. That wasn’t before recording some horrifying footage of tentacles bursting through a dark portal and multiple sets of eyes before the camera seemingly disintegrated in the ooze.

The missile had come in way too fast, it whizzed right past the dragons to the epicentre of the portal, landing and exploding on impact. The explosion spawned a massive tsunami, water and dark purple miasma raining down on the riders unfortunate enough not to get away in time.

Loki, of those who were the unluckiest, was ejected from the back of his drake and down into the water below. He was carried away in the tsunami as Hela attempted to fly down and retrieve him, though she was stopped as one of the tentacles wrapped around her tail and began to drag her down into the murky depths.

She squirmed and thrashed, the armour smoking but holding strong. She flapped her wings in attempts to get away but more tendrils grappled her with more strength than she was capable of mustering to fly away.

“I’ve got you,” a voice sounded from one of the monitors and the meaning behind the words became clear shortly thereafter as Loki’s voice was picked up over the mic.

“Hela!  _ Hela! _ Stop, Nat! Let me go! We have to get her, she’s in pain!” His voice became steadily more frantic despite his coughing and sputtering. “ _ Please, Nat! _ ”

“Loki, I can’t-”

“ _ Please! Don’t let her die! _ ” One of the drones caught sight of the raven-haired man desperately trying to crawl out of Natasha’s tight grip even as she forcefully tied him down to the saddle.

“Loki, I’m sorry…”

“Please… Hela, please… she can’t… she can’t be dead… Natasha, please… I just want to be with her, I don’t want to leave her alone like this, I don’t want her gone, I want… I want her back, I can’t feel her anymore…”

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Loki…” the redheaded rider responded to that as the raven-haired man descended into broken sobs.

Stephen’s fingers reached out to mute the comm as his eyes dropped to the floor, and he barely flinched as Thor’s fist connected hard with the wall beside him and he shook with rage and fear. Three riders and their dragons disappeared into the wave besides, with one rider killed and their dragon blinking before anyone in the room realized what had happened.

The silence in the room was stifling. Aside from Thor’s heavy breathing, they could’ve heard a pin drop before Brunnhilde came over her comm to them. “We’ve lost seven dragons and five riders,” she reported grimly.

“Was it worth it, at least?” Steve spoke up when no one else did. “Is it taken care of?”

“There’s too much interference in the air for me to see properly. I’m sending the others home. I’ll stay behind and report,” the green rider responded.

“... is it  _ ever _ worth losing people?”

“It has to have been worth something, because if they died for nothing…” Steve trailed off, and Stephen’s hand simply reached to hold Tony’s, trying to gather strength from him as he spoke up.

“Prepare the Sanctum for the arrival of the injured. Alert Christine and her staff to the incoming dragonless. She’ll… need to prepare for their states.”

"Dammnit all." Tony clenched his teeth, looking down as his fist hit the table so hard it cracked the wood and left a nasty red welt.

It had all happened so fast, it wasn't fair - none of this was fair. Tony was trying to digest what happened, the screams of terror, the loss of life and despite Loki being alive, he was about to lose him too.

Loki was already dead in his mind, and if he wasn't he knew he'd have to face going through exactly what Stephen did with whatever dragonless riders returned.

To see his riders - his friends - deteriorate, the idea haunted him and he felt a chill shoot through him as he tried to take in shaky breaths. It was almost as if he was made of glass, and the moment Stephen touched Tony he curled his arms around himself and fell to his knees, clutching at his head and started to panic.

"I let this happen, this is my fault." He held his head, all voices around him a blur as he began to unravel on the floor. Breathing was hard, his heart was in his throat and he felt like he was going to have a heart attack. It was beating so fast, he was so lightheaded - he thought he might pass out.

Steve tried to step up and help but Stephen shook his head.

"Everyone out, he needs space, I've got him." Steve wanted to protest but Thor pushed past him, pulling him and Stephen nodded to the red rider as if indicating to go after him.

Stephen crouched in front of him before the others had even left, his hands resting on either of Tony’s knees as he tried to reach through the fog to Tony’s panic. But he could feel it burning in his chest and throat, and he could feel Friday’s deep sorrow in his heart - the realization that she’d lost friends as well, her first taste of loss, and it hurt her deeply. He could barely hear outside of how loudly his heart beat in his ears, but he could feel it resonating through his body and mind as a soulful wailing chimed all around the Sanctum, the dragons mourning the loss of their kin.

Something stroked his cheek, a vague touch, something trying to catch his attention… he didn’t know what, or why. Everything ached for how tightly he was holding himself, and he was sure he was saying something but it was hard to even hear his own voice through the noise in his head.

< _ Tony… _ > it was different. A different voice. He didn’t know this voice - it was new. < _ Tony. It isn’t your fault. Nothing is your fault, _ > the unfamiliar voice soothed.

It was hard to place. Unfamiliar, but it felt so warm… it felt familiar… something trying to soothe him. He looked up and saw Stephen’s blurry figure watching him, felt his fingers brush against his cheek, but it wasn’t Stephen talking. It wasn’t Friday, though the voice resounded in his mind much like hers did - a male’s voice… It didn’t ask anything of him, but warmth radiated through the connection without words, and the red rider pulled him into his chest firmly, holding him close.

“This isn’t your fault…” Stephen’s voice seemed to echo the other voice. “You aren’t in control of anyone but you. It’s not your fault.”

Tony could just make out Stephen's voice, the other having enveloped him in warmth. He felt so out of it, he didn't know who was speaking to him but he did start to slip back to reality gradually.

Impulse and instinct had him wrapping his arms around Stephen's midsection, fingers cinching into the red rider's fabric as his whole body shook hysterically.

The gold rider barely had the capacity to formulate his thoughts, they were fragmented much like shattered glass strewn across the pavement. "I can't lose him, Stephen, I can't - I just..." his words came out breathy and slurred as he seemed to trip over his own vernacular.

"Shh… just, relax for me. You literally couldn't have done anything more to help," the rider's hand stroked over the back of Tony's head and he was on the floor, sitting and pulling Tony into his lap.

There was another surge of warmth. Friday was trying to calm him, Stephen was trying to console him too, and then it also felt like there was another as well… Levi?

"I can't do this, I'm not cut out for this." The brunette was teetering on the edge with his self-loathing, his inability to protect his friends, his family, his Sanctum riders - they were his, his to look after, he needed to be there to lead them and he let them all down.

“Tony,” Stephen whispered softly, holding him close, “breathe for me, okay? Take a few deep breaths and listen to me. He’s my friend, too. They’re  _ my responsibility, too _ ... it’s not just you. This isn’t on you. The finger is easy to point at, the blame falls on someone we can name. But it  _ isn’t you _ , do you hear me? Friday chose you because she believes in you. And I believe in you. I always have. You can do this. Sometimes it’s hard, but you’re not alone.”

< _ Tony…? Are you okay? _ > Friday’s voice came through, sad but supportive. < _ You seem really agitated… are you going to come outside? I’m worried about you… _ >

< _ Don’t rush yourself, _ > the male voice, Levi, spoke again. < _ I’ll take care of her. You take care of yourself. But we’re here if you need us. _ >

Tony thought he could have been delusional that his mind was making up voices to speak to him, he didn't know why he could hear Levi but in his current state, he could have possibly been fabricating his own coping mechanisms to deal with the turmoil.

< _ ... _ >

His hands weakly slid down Stephen's arms, and the red rider felt the subtle dampness in the front of his tunic as Tony tried to gather himself up again.

"I-I don't know what to do from here, I'm at a loss, Stephen. I can't rightfully send more riders in after this, something needs to be done." The voice was shaky but it seemed that Tony had moved on momentarily from his lapse of a self-loathing and at least trying to work through possibilities now.

There was a pause, he kept his head down low ashamed to lift it and look into the red rider's eyes, but eventually, he'd need to surface for air and face everyone.

“If it turns out that thing isn’t destroyed, we have to send more riders. That’s our job,” Stephen stated softly, but without hesitation. “I know how you feel. I don’t want to put any more of our people in danger, but we still have to do what we can. Regardless of what that man did, we weren’t likely to be able to deal with this without losing some people. As for him, if you don’t feel like you can deal with him, I’ll gather the military, SI, and the media if I have to make it clear what happened today will not be tolerated. If you think I was ever a cold bastard to you, you never hurt my friends.”   
  
Fingers brushed through his hair and a soft kiss was pressed to his temple as Stephen rocked them both back and forth gently. “We’ll work things out.”

A small chirp screeched from beside them before a small creature wormed its way into Tony’s lap, butting his head against Tony’s chin as he did. A tiny little dragon’s eye watched him before the head butted at him again.

Tony's fingers delicately curled around the small ruby-scaled beastie in his lap. It crawled into the folds of his tunic finding respite in the hanging parts of the fabric dipping over his sash.

He looked down, letting out a soft breathy sigh and fingered at the drake, finally pulling away. 

"The media needs to know what happened, we have proof and there's no way that this could be covered up. Stark didn't have clearance to test those weapons in a live zone. Even if he didn't kill those riders, they are all technically dead, until we can find something to fix their condition." He kept an arm still around Stephen's shoulder while the other fingered at the small creature seemingly falling asleep in the folds of his tunic.

“Once our riders return and are settled I’ll make plans to sort all of this out. In the meantime, have Friday bring you down to the canteen. Have some fresh water, or a beer, or something to help you relax. I’ll stay in touch with Brunn and Val, and we’ll figure this all out okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	14. Chapter 14

When the greens landed, Stephen was at a loss. He didn’t know whether to summon Tony again to deal with this or to simply allow him to rest and recover. He had yet to tell him the inevitable verdict, afraid of leaving Tony to spiral back into his pit of depression while there were still things to deal with. 

He knew Steve was at least with the gold rider to keep an eye on him and offer some support, and as much as he wished he could be with Tony as well there were other things he had to do. The Sanctum wasn’t going to run itself at this point and it wasn’t the first crisis he’d had to endure here. Nor the first one he’d had to guide them through alone. Tony deserved to have time to mourn, Stephen had learned well enough how to put off that kind of thing at this point.

The green riders who had lost their dragons had both been subdued to try and protect them from themselves, but neither of the men were happy and it was clear. 

Stephen hesitated to approach them, before finally simply hoisting Loki up to carry him further into the hospital as he allowed the man to bury his face into his shoulder, crying silently and trembling in his spot. Christine joined them shortly after he got Loki seated, and the two of them carefully getting him out of his damaged armour before laying him down and watching him immediately curl up into a ball.

The room was pointedly devoid of anything that he could harm himself with, but dragonless had found their ways before.

“I’ll give you two a few minutes,” Christine stated softly, resting a hand on Stephen’s shoulder before heading out to help deal with Scott.

“Loki…?” the red rider stated softly, sitting beside him on the bed and reaching out to touch his shoulder, but the raven-haired man didn’t respond. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for your loss… I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now. But I want you to know there are people here that care about you. We’re here for you, and we’ll help you get through this as best we can…”

The man didn’t even flinch at being touched, he simply continued to silently cry, and Stephen swallowed hard around the lump in his throat. He didn’t want to go through this again. He didn’t want someone else he cared so deeply about to be in this state. 

He lay carefully beside the man for a moment, wrapping his arms around him to hold him close. “I’m sorry. I can’t bring her back… but I’ll do everything I can to make sure the man responsible pays for this. I promise.”

* * *

< _ Loki has been settled into a ward if you’d like to see him, _ > Friday alerted him, despite the fact that Steve had been doing his best to keep his mind off the green dragons by commenting on the little red fire-lizard that seemed intent on keeping Tony company. Tony half suspected the creature had been instructed to keep him company by the kid, and it was a heartwarming thing to think about, though it only cut through the haze slightly.

“It almost seems like they all get pregnant around the same time when the kid just shows up with a little pregnant gold. She’s getting pretty chubby, too. I wonder if their gestation period is shorter than Friday’s… it makes sense, doesn’t it?” Steve continued to muse aloud in his attempts to keep Tony’s mind occupied.

Tony was either be grieving or focusing intently on the situation that had just transpired - even he wasn’t certain.

His mood had only slightly improved thanks to Steve and the younglings help but, at some point, Tony had deemed that he'd grieved enough and needed to eventually work past this hole he'd fallen into. His current state was the antithesis of everything he'd ever wanted and worked towards. He was a leader and innovator, a man to inspire and here he was wallowing in self-pity because he'd personally put it upon his own shoulders that a variable completely out of his control was somehow entirely on him.

He was a leader and he was doing a god-awful job at it.

This wasn't like him, he'd always been known as a man for movement, momentum, forward-thinking and searching for answers to problems rather than complaining about a circumstance and acting as if he was simply a product of the system.

But that wasn't it.

"Man that Peter, he's got so many of them - I wonder if they are like birds, huh? Imprinting on a parental figure. It's an interesting thing to think about," Steve hummed softly, teasing the whelp by prodding its snout and pulling away every time it tried to nip at his finger.

"I need to go see Loki," Tony looked at Steve with a determined look.

"Tony, I don't think-" the blonde started, putting his antics with the whelp on hold.

"We're going to put an end to all of this, this stupid creature in the water  _ and _ my father. And I will find a cure for them - all of them," Tony stood up, it was hard to tell if he was angry or still upset but regardless there was a spark of determination in his voice.

"Tony, you are in no condition, emotionally, to be doing any of this," Steve attempted to reason.

"If we don't keep moving, if we don't look for answers then we won't press through, we won't evolve. I can't sit around and have the world pity me when the entire Sanctum is grieving, in fear and needs a leader. Stephen can't shoulder everything on his own - I can't do this to him." Steve had an unreadable expression on his face, but he nodded anyway.

"You're going to need a lift to the hospital ward, aren't you? I couldn't stop you if I wanted to," Steve shook his head, the small red lizard trundled back over to Tony and peeped at him.

"If you'd be so kind," he flashed Steve the weakest of smiles.

The hospital contained a dozen dragons, and about sixteen riders in total, all in various states of wellness. Three of the riders seemed to be unconscious with their dragons hovering nearby in worry, their own wounds minimal compared to their more fragile riders, and it seemed that most of the injured dragons were suffering primarily from the concussive blast - if they’d avoided being caught in the waves and disoriented, they managed to stay mostly out of danger.

The various medical staff wandered around without really seeing more than their charges, though a middle-aged man looked at him briefly as he entered. “Can I help you, Tony?” he inquired quietly, glancing briefly towards Steve before settling his focus on the leader again. “Is there anyone you’re looking for in particular?”

"I'm here to see Loki." The doctor flipped through his board and immediately found the rider in question's room. 

"Right this way, Tony," he turned towards the direction in question and Steve gave Tony an unsure look as they both followed along.

Tony seemed to be set and resolute, ready for whatever he was about to see. He already, in fact, had an idea of what he'd be greeted with. His mind vastly overplaying the scene in remembrance Tilly of the time Stephen had taken him to see the previous Sanctum leader.

It was a scar on his mind, one which he would never forget, ingrained and forever haunting him until he found a means of fixing it.

The walk was quiet, Tony could sense that Steve was uneasy, the pressure building with each step until they reached a door cracked open only a bit. The light was on, and Stephen was there resting beside Loki who still seemed to be set into a fetal position.

Stephen had a panicked look on his face as Tony walked in the room, but Tony made his way over without a word to rest a hand on the green rider's shoulder.

"I'll set this right, I'm not going to lose you," he leaned in gently, squeezing Loki's arm.

The red leader sat up slowly, rubbing at his face a little. “I’m sorry… was… did I lose track of time?” Grey-blue eyes settled on Steve for a moment, before he got to his feet, clearing his throat and trying to compose himself.

Loki didn’t respond to Tony’s words, however. He remained still, crying silently and staring at the wall, unseeingly. His arms stayed wrapped around his knees, neither tightening nor loosening with the company, and it wasn’t much longer before another red rider arrived in the room.

“... Loki…?” Thor called softly as Steve backed out of the room some. The bigger blond sniffled softly, rubbing at his face as he looked between Stephen, Tony and the man on the bed. “I… can I see him, please?” His voice was soft and the request was almost croaked out rather than being the big, boisterous sound it had always been before. “Or if… you need a minute I… I’ll just… get him some juice or something.”

Not even waiting for a response, the man disappeared down the hall again, leaving the two leaders and the catatonic Loki alone in the room.

“I don’t know what to do for him, Tony. But if you need a couple of minutes alone with him… or if you’d rather not be alone I can stay…?”

The uncertainty in Stephen’s tone spoke volumes. He was trying to be helpful, trying to be considerate. Tony knew in a lot of ways it didn’t come easily to the other, especially given that the events of the day had impacted Stephen as well, but he was doing his best to glue his leaderly mask back together.

Tony shook his head, his hand squeezing around Loki's shoulder once more before he drew away from the crumpled rider.

"I've seen all I've need to, Thor deserves his time. Right now I need to work on fixing this. What did Brunnhilde have to say?”

“The green riders' sacrifices were not in vain. They managed to significantly push back whatever monster was in the ocean. It's been neutralized back down to roughly the size it was when we first encountered it, it's a win for us but the job isn't done yet." Tony looked at Stephen with an earnest, hopeful expression at that response as he tugged the red rider from the room.

"If we can finish off whatever it is, then that will be the last of our worries. Maybe we can use this lawsuit to get funding and fix what happened. It's a stretch, but we deserve something out of this, and Stark Industries is not about to walk out of this without some sort of reconciling - Howard isn’t going to walk away from this unscathed." Tony grabbed Stephen's shoulder determined, giving him a serious look.

"I'm not going to lose Loki, I can't - I refuse. I will find a way to bring him back - him and all the other riders we've lost to this," Tony gripped Stephen's shoulders, staring him down.

In the short time that all of this had elapsed Tony had managed to overcome his fears for the most part and stare adversity right in the face.

Anger and frustration could be powerful motivators, though the look Stephen gave him in response wasn’t the most reassuring. “I hope so. I hope you’re right, Tony.” 

Thor passed them on their way out, carrying a tetra pack of juice boxes as he shuffled towards his brother’s room solemnly, and Tony felt more resolute than before.

“Of course I’m right.”

* * *

Bruce returned later that evening with the rest of the armour. He spoke quietly with a thoroughly intoxicated Thor for a few minutes before he joined Stephen, Tony and Steve where they sat planning for the upcoming battle. Not that they’d gotten far into that plan.

“We can’t attack tomorrow,” Stephen stated, clearly. “Yes, doing so may maximize the effectiveness of this attack, but the entire Sanctum’s morale is low, and we’re down two wings of injured greens. Plus, we need to coordinate with the military to make certain there aren’t going to be any further intrusions.”

Steve’s eyes turned to Tony, “you have an in with the military, don’t you? That friend of yours? Any chance we could organize a last-minute meeting with him to make sure that all works?”

“Steve, you’re being unreasonable here,” the red leader frowned. “The military isn’t going to be able to deal with all the formalities of this overnight. That’s just not how it works. We need time. We need to be prepared. An extra two days isn’t going to make that much of a difference for that creature, but it will make a huge difference for us and our troops.”

“... sounds like this is all going well,” Bruce mumbled to Tony as he took a seat beside the gold rider, watching the two red riders continue their tête-à-tête. “Rhodes actually has offered to come by tomorrow if he’s needed. Given he’s the military consultant for SI, he’s pretty pissed about what happened and is stuck in some meetings already attempting to figure things out. He said he’ll give you a call in the morning and see what he can provide.”

"I imagine Rhodes would have been behind stopping something like this," Tony responded. "What we need to do is ensure both the military and Stark Industries don't interfere with the next assault. It's too soon after, and as long as we can guarantee that we will be fine. Not to mention the weapons alone have no effects on whatever that thing is."

"Stark has been incentivizing grants for the Sanctum after what happened - hush money, if you will," Bruce, muttered bitterly to Tony.

"We're not going to take it, we've managed well enough without additional financial aid for a long time, I'm sure we can do just fine without it," the brunette sneered.

"Organize a meeting with Colonel Rhodes, we can discuss our demands with the company then," Tony went full military at that moment though the edge phased away just as quickly. "I need to be sure that there are no further scheduled attacks. We've clearly got this under control."

"Do you still want to go public to the media with all of this?" Stephen inquired, pausing his discussion with Steve to look at his lover thoughtfully.

"Plan to show what the loss of a dragon does to a person? What happens when a dragon loses their rider?" Bruce inquired, sounding distinctly angry as he spoke. "We're not military, no matter what people outside seem to think. They've forgotten that. And most people still sympathize with harm being caused to the dragons. Plus, Rhodes was saying that by law we still have the right to decide what actions are taken where non-human threats to this planet are concerned, so Stark Industries has gone against government laws several times over in his attack. I'll reach out to him after dinner to arrange that meeting, though."

Tony shook his head. "As much as I want to show the world what has happened here, I'm not going to make an example of my riders. What happened, happened. We were in the right here and regardless of the thorough evidence we deserve retribution. I don't want to expose these riders to the media, especially given how unstable their states of being are. It doesn't feel right..." Tony trailed off.

"But I do plan to sue, if not - ask for some sort of equivalent in terms of what Stark rightfully owes us for interfering. We do after all have rights, but in the end, there's not much that can amount to the lives lost, it's unquantifiable."

“Sounds like a plan. I’m just glad Rhodes was there. Stark was intrusive and mouthy as hell, and I don’t need that kind of thing in my work environment. Plus being away from the Sanctum so long was hard on Hulk, and we’re both a bit cranky I suppose. Though, that doesn’t mean I should be taking it out on-- anyway. 

“The armour should all be good to go. We even made sure the make the armour for the leads distinct from the rest so that they’re more easily spotted during the attack. I uh… also might’ve fabricated something for Friday. Not that I expect she’ll be out there on the field, just… you know. For the future. Just in case,” Bruce smiled weakly as he attempted to change the subject.

“I still think we should wait just a couple of days until we launch any kind of attack, but if we’re meeting with the Colonel tomorrow anyway, then I’d like to wait until we have that meeting to make solid plans. Besides, the one thing we don’t know for sure is if killing that thing will be sufficient to close the portal it opened,” Stephen remarked.

"Put a hold on the mission plans for a day, I'd rather ensure the safety of the Sanctum's riders than risk it. We might be able to negotiate something with Rhodey and get some certainty on whether or not it will be safe to proceed with plans or not," Tony looked to Bruce with a smile.

"That's really nice of you, Bruce… I know we'll get use out of it at some point, if not for practical use then to bolster the Sanctum's ranks. But that's really sweet. I'm sure Friday will be sure to thank you too, and I won't forget to tell her either," he grinned and the small red lizard that had been hammocked in his tunic stirred and began to clamber up onto Tony's shoulder.

"As for the portal," Tony nudged at the small drake with his finger. "I'm confident that whatever we have left to do will take care of the issue. If the greens could push the portal back with a joint effort that much, then imagine what a group of reds could do."

“We aren’t at full red capacity,” Steve pointed out, and Stephen shifted unhappily in his seat at that. “We’ll have the rest of the dragons on hand, however. I’m sure it won’t be a problem as long as the military isn’t getting in the way and we do this in fairly short order before the thing recovers.”

Finishing up his meal, Stephen simply sat back in his seat and sighed heavily, closing his eyes. “Is Thor going to be in the right headspace for all of this after… what happened?” 

Steve and Bruce fell quiet at that, shifting uncomfortably and glancing at one another before Steve cast a brief glance to where the other red rider sat, quiet, alone, and drinking.

"If he might be a danger to himself and the mission we can't have him involved. There are other riders, browns, blues even that can fill in for him. I don't want anyone going into this without being one-hundred percent about what they need to be doing," Tony's fingers rapped on the table softly.

"I'm with Tony on that one, armour or not if the rider isn't in the right headspace the dragon won't be either. This is a life-or-death situation here, and we don't want any more lives lost for any reason," Bruce looked between the men, leaning forwards onto the table, bracing himself with his arms.

Steve looked between them almost as if it was a standoff. "I'll do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe, our best bet is to consider Thor's condition and whether he's mentally fit. It half weighs on him, I'm sure he'd want some sort of involvement in the mission given he would be fighting for his brother."

“If Thor’s not in the right frame of mind to be going in, then that leaves us down two red riders. As it stands I’ll be leaving Kaecilius in charge of my wing, but I don’t know who will take charge of Thor’s wing with him down and Loki…” Stephen trailed off.

Bruce frowned at that, some. “Hogunn most likely. Brunnhilde is the best qualified, but the larger dragons aren’t going to follow a green, they’ll get testy.”

“I’ll work on arranging all of that tomorrow,” Stephen shook his head. “For now, give him a night to mourn and we’ll see where he’s at after.” Getting to his feet, the red leader looked to Tony. “Are you going to stay here a while?”

"I think giving him the night to gather his bearings would be good. Ideally, I would like to have Thor on the field, but at the same time - I don't want to jeopardize him or the mission," Tony stood up straight, looking to Stephen and following after the other red rider.

"Yeah, I'm coming… I think everyone here could honestly use some breathing space, I'm still not completely one-hundred percent myself," he let out a deep breath, nodding his head and standing at Stephen's side.

"I'll stay here with Thor, make sure he doesn't get into trouble," Bruce nodded, lifting an arm to wave at them.

“Goodnight, Bruce, Steve.” Stephen greeted, reaching to take Tony’s hand gently and turning to make his way out to where Friday and Levi were waiting, cuddled against each other, as usual. 

“... you wanna just head to bed or… do you want to take some time and relax a bit before sleep? A nice bath, or… I dunno. I… I’m not the best at this, but… if there’s anything I can do to help you, please let me know. We can… sit by the lake for a while, if it’ll help? Just somewhere quiet, the four of us…?” 

The red rider took a long moment, before simply curling his arms around Tony and pulling him in. “... you’re getting a hug though. Because I need a fucking hug.”

"A bit too late to protest anyways," Tony sighed, his face pressed into the fabric of Stephen's chest as he closed his eyes returning it. He gave the other man a squeeze, letting out a heavy breath into the fabric of his front.

"Bath, bed, sleep… whatever, I'm just exhausted, I still don't really know how to deal with today," the brunette managed to muffle right into Stephen's chest front, staying where he'd been hauled in.

Both dragons perked when the two of them walked outside, and that seemed to remind Tony of something.

“It’ll get easier,” the oblivious red rider responded, bowing his head to tuck it into the crook of Tony’s neck. “I promise it will get easier. In the meantime, I’m here for you. You don’t have to do any of this alone, so just… if you need anything ask me, okay? I’m here…”

The gold rider took in his companion's scent with a deep inhale, and then slowly exhaled trying to calm himself. "I really don't know what I would do without you, Stephen… Thank you, just… having you here means the world to me right now, I don't know if I could even ask for more," Tony pulled back some to flash his companion a weak smile.

It would be hard, but he was doing his best.

"I forgot to mention, I think I may have heard Levi's voice at some point, that or I was so hysterical at the time, I was hearing things..." he trailed off a little unsure.

Stephen gave a slight pause at that before chuckling softly, cuddling into Tony a little more. 

< _ Yes, Tony. You heard me. You were distressed. Friday was distressed. Stephen was worried he couldn’t get through to you. Does that bother you? _ > the male voice from before came again. < _ I can stop if it makes you uncomfortable. _ >

“You’re not alone,” the red rider spoke at nearly the same time. “We’re all here for you. We all love you. We’ll all support you through this. Friday, Levi and I. Your friends will help you through this as well. Steve and Bruce… they care about you. They worry about you. This Sanctum is their home, too. You’re their family, too.”

Tony looked over his shoulder to see the red perked up and staring at them, both dragons looked as if they were a couple of inquisitive birds.

< _ It's fine it just, surprised me a little. Having a channel of communication opened with you is just as important as Stephen's with Friday, it's nice to finally be able to hear your voice, _ > the brunette regarded Stephen with a curious look.

"Thank you, I can't do this alone..." he let out a soft sigh, trying to calm the last of his nerves as he relaxed into Stephen's hold.

The red dragon gave a low, soft grumble as he stretched out his neck to rest it beside them, careful about disturbing the small fire lizard as he gently nudged the riders, as though to join in their hug. Stephen simply held him a little tighter, threading his fingers through Tony's hair.

"You're not alone," Stephen reiterated softly. "But we could all use some sleep... Or at least to head to bed..." he added.

The engineer extended a hand to the red dragon's snout, running his palm over the tip of Levi's nose. He smoothed his hand over the top of it a few times with a smile that had Friday leaning in just as soon demanding quietly not to be left out of the moment.

"I just need to decompress..." Tony gave Stephen a little tug as he walked over to Friday, running his hand along with her gold scales as he walked over to her saddle. She crooned contently and nudged Levi's nose in turn before standing up, ready to leave.

Stephen nodded, there was some resistance when Tony had pulled his hand away to leave but he gave Levi a couple soft pats in turn before the red extended his wing to aid his rider.

The flight took moments, with the two dismounting their dragons, followed into the chambers where Tony nodded towards the bathroom. He scooped up the fire-lizard in his hand, setting it down on the bed to let it sleep as he nodded for Stephen to come to join him.

Friday curled up in the open area, joined by Levi who circled around her, resting his head beside her stomach as he lazily watched the two Sanctum leaders abscond to the bathroom.

The red rider trailed after him easily, unfastening various parts of his attire before discarding some of the tighter fitting and more official parts of his outfit. "I hope the plan here is a long, hot bath, because it's in my head now and I'm enamoured by the thought of it," he said, slipping his boots off and looking at the large bathing pool thoughtfully. "Especially with you."

Grey-blue eyes focused on Tony, and Stephen gave him a warm smile that belied his fatigue and stress. There was no hiding it completely - they both knew what had happened and what was to come, and it was nothing easy - but for a moment the older rider seemed playful and content.

"I guess I can't really argue with that then," he chuckled, despite the weight of everything right now Stephen still managed to draw a smile from him.

He divested himself of the last of his clothing, slipping his toes into the water of the basin before sliding in up to his chest. He looked up at Stephen expectantly gesturing him to come occupy the spot in front of him.

The taller man took moments more to finish undressing before he slipped into the heated pool as well, slowly allowing himself to adjust to the hot water before sneaking in closer to Tony and curling both of his arms around the other. He seemed to take an easier breath, as though the water was easing away some of his worries - or at least some of the tension in his muscles.

"It'll be convenient for you and Levi to be able to speak with each other," he said quietly, reaching an arm to the side to gather a cloth and soap before beginning to wash Tony's back and shoulders, his arms still draped around him. "I'm glad he was able to reach out to you."

Tony leaned his head forwards to allow Stephen to access the spots on his neck and back in order to drag the terrycloth over his skin. His eyes shut in sombre recollection, unable to entirely shut out the happenings of the day as he sunk into the red rider's touch.

"Yeah… given that Friday soon enough may not be able to fly before she lays her eggs," Tony sighed, his eyes cracked open as he stared at the water in front of him. "I can't help but think… about the fire lizards, we don't know much about them," Tony began quietly, "but what if they were able to imprint just like… the dragons?" he let his shoulders drop. "Steve was talking to me about it earlier when you had to go"

"... That wouldn't surprise me," Stephen responded as he continued to cleanse and gently massage Tony's muscles. "They're protodragons, supposedly bred and biologically engineered into the dragons we know today when the Earth first faced threats such as these. 

"If you believe the myths, there was magic in this world for a very long time until something stole it away. The people of Earth became fearful after that, having to learn to survive without magic and struggling, lapsing into war. During that point, fire-lizards proved to be one of the few remaining creatures with any innate magical capability and had protected themselves and their human companions for those that had them, from the creatures from beyond. People imagined what it would have been like if they had been larger, more defensible," the red rider explained as he continued, not following where Tony was going with his line of thought. 

"People became fearful of magic over time, of course, but the dragons were bred to be controlled, and those humans who still practiced magic thereafter were deemed 'witches' were exterminated. If the myths can be believed. But there were only oral histories of that time passed along for centuries, so how much of that is true is hard to say."

Tony focused on the story, concentrating on Stephen's soft-spoken words and the ministrations at his backside.

"Theoretically speaking… if they can imprint, then couldn't it be possible in some way to have them imprint on those who lost their dragons? I know it sounds a little stupid, they both aren't the same, but I can't shake that thought," he leaned back further against Stephen and let out a deep breath.

"It doesn't sound stupid," Stephen sounded thoughtful as his hands moved over Tony's hips and lower back. "Dragons have long lives and cannot exist without their human riders, so we limit how old one can be when they imprint on a dragon. Fire-lizards we have limited knowledge of, though they aren't made to conform to the same conditions dragons are. In theory, they may be able to imprint on one of the dragonless, but... There's no saying whether it would be helpful. We'd have to speak more with Peter about his bond with his brood and test the theory to know for sure. You could be on to something... And it's worth at least looking into."

"I don't want to get my hopes up, but it feels like there's something we can actually do. If Peter lets us distribute the next brood of eggs upon the dragonless, at the worst we say we tried - and the best, maybe we can bring back everyone we've lost… He said he even needed some help caring for his clutch, and if he has another one on the way, he might be a little overwhelmed."

Tony turned around in Stephen's hold, resting his palms on the other rider's arms. "I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket, but we don't know until we try."

The red rider ran his hands over Tony’s chest when he turned, leaning to press a gentle kiss to his neck. “We’ll talk to Peter about it soon, then. Tomorrow, we have Rhodes to deal with as well as checking on the greens and a bunch of prep work. I still don’t feel comfortable sending out the groups with so few reds I can’t risk Levi, but at the same time, I feel like I should be there with them,” Stephen sighed softly. “Unfortunately, we can’t put off the fight that long. Do you want to talk to Thor tomorrow, or shall I?”

Tony leaned his forehead over onto Stephen's shoulder. "I don't want to talk to him, but I should. Thor knows me and he knows I was good friends with Loki, it feels only right that I speak with him about what happened. I also don't want you going out there either, Levi needs to stay here with Friday."

He closed his eyes and dragged his lips over Stephen's shoulder, squeezing the red rider closer, arms fully wrapped around the other man, holding him like it was the last time and shivering slightly.

“You know we grew up together, right?” the taller man smiled, his beard tickling Tony’s shoulder lightly as his hands stilled and simply curled around him to hold him. “Thor and Loki and I… we were all born here. Thor and I never really got along as kids,” he reminisced. “He was very active, and I was very studious. Loki and I, though… we used to fight constantly when we were small, but in our teens we got really close. He got me to loosen up a little, to have more fun. We’d argue still, but it would be about our studies, debating concepts and history, stuff about dragons. And I mean… he was my first…”

Stephen trailed off at that, hugging Tony a little closer. “Sorry, I got… a little sidetracked. Thor and I imprinted during the same hatching… as red riders we both got a lot closer for a while, is the point. If you don’t want to talk to Thor, I will. I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make to him in the end.”

"Your first what?" Of all the things to hold onto from the information being shared, he picked the least important of the points. Tony quirked an eyebrow leaning back and peering straight over at Stephen, waiting for the answer. The man looked a little caught off guard by the inquiry.

He squeezed Stephen, fingers interlaced with one another as he hunched his shoulders.

Stephen tucked his face down again with a small grumble. “My first a lot of things?” he offered. “My first time as a top, and was blessedly non-judgemental when I decided that wasn’t… my thing. My first time as a bottom in general, and he teased me a little about that but only in private. He was my first exploration of kink in any way - we were teens, we had a lot to learn and not a lot of resources to do it with… my first threesome?” he chuckled softly at that, finally pulling back and looking a bit embarrassed.

“One of the people who stayed with us in the Sanctum for a while helped us figure out a lot of things we didn’t know about before. And of course, he was there with me to help prepare for… doing things with Levi,” Stephen added a little more sheepishly, though he still had a rather pleased smile on his features.

Tony let out a breathy laugh, by the responses he knew that their discussion was going to get sorely off-topic but for some reason - light casual conversation didn't seem to be a concern at the moment. He smiled widely, knowingly and quirked an eyebrow at the other rider. "It kind of makes me wonder how the two of you managed to grow so far apart… you know, when I got to Sanctum it's not like the two of you really seemed all that close." 

He paused, a hand coming up out of the water to brush against his cheek. "And oh - I know, can't help but dig out those photos when you aren't around," he prodded lightly, hoping to work Stephen's embarrassment further.

“There were… a lot of factors to our not talking anymore,” Stephen responded, his face reddening further as he blatantly ignored Tony’s teasing to the best of his ability. “I expect a lot of it was my own fault… In the end, we had a fight. He wanted something more serious and I wasn’t… ready? My parents weren’t exactly in love. I was conceived of a mating flight and… I worried that having a relationship with Loki as a red rider could make things complicated if I ended up in the position of a leader, with a potentially pregnant co-leader. I didn’t know if I could balance relationships and obligations the way I thought I’d need to. I wanted to be more supportive in the event that I had children, and I didn’t want to leave Loki feeling neglected either. It turns out he felt neglected anyway.”

The red rider sighed softly to himself and gave a half-hearted shrug as he started to gently rinse Tony of suds. “I’d say I regret that but… the reality is I’m not sure I could’ve given him what he needed. But we were never quite… close again after that.”

Tony's knuckles came up to brush a few strands of silver and dark brown from Stephen's face, fostering that soft smile before his hand slid back down to the red rider's shoulder and his palm gently rubbed the spot.

"I remember hearing some of those stories, I know he did sound like he really missed the friendship the two of you had when he spoke of you… and maybe I'm selfish in saying that I'm glad things worked out to be in our favour in the end," the second part came a little quieter after.

“What, you don’t think you could share?” Stephen teased softly, leaning to nibble at Tony’s neck gently. “What would you do then? Would you fight to win me and keep me all to yourself? Are you entirely uncomfortable with polyamory...?” His lips continued to brush over Tony’s neck before he worried a small mark into the gold rider’s neck. "It's not like the bed isn't big enough for three..." he chuckled.

"Is it selfish to say I want you all to myself?" Tony craned his neck backwards enjoying the feeling of Stephen's lips on his neck. His fingers lightly knit into the other's hair and he encouraged Stephen's ministrations further.

“It’s not selfish. Unless you’re feeling particularly possessive… and if that’s the case, maybe you should do something about that,” Stephen purred against his skin, curling his fingers in to hold Tony a little tighter.

"I was never great with sharing," he paused to let out a soft breath, "and I do plan to do something about it," Tony grunted, mind starting to melt from the lips mouthing at his neck. He nudged Stephen's legs up onto his own lap and bumped up against his backside, semi-hard as he tilted his head to look down at him with cracked eyes.

"Now if only Levi wasn't fully grown, then maybe I would have reaped the benefits of enjoying watching you play with him," he chuckled softly.

Stephen pulled back to look at him, taking a long, serious moment to watch him. “Levi,” he called to the other room without turning his eyes away from Tony, and the red made a soft noise before peering into the bathroom. “How do you and Friday feeling about playtime?”

Tony heard it then, too, not only the dragon’s odd little chirp but the peculiar silence that stretched out as Levi presumably asked his mate about her feelings on the matter.

< _ Tony? _ > Friday asked after a moment, < _ do you want to mate with Levi, too? _ >

< _ That was the plan sweetie-pie, you mind if we borrow your mate to blow off some steam? _ > There was another brief pause.

< _ Just don't hurt yourself Tony, but I'm fine with that, if you need any assistance, I don't want either of you injuring yourself. Levi is too big for humans. _ >

< _ We'll be fine, I've got this under control. Could you grab Stephen's leather gear and the coil of rope next to the bed for me too while you are out there? _ >

< _ Of course! _ >

* * *

"I think that was the best outcome I could have hoped for today..."

“Cozy,” Stephen murmured as he snuggled into Tony’s lap further, reaching for a cloth to try and clean himself and watching the big red dragon rub at his belly before resting his head on the edge of the basin near Friday. Stephen smiled as he watched, cleaning his own stomach up easily enough before reaching around Tony to work on cleaning his back of as much of the cum and sweat as he could manage, tucking his own chin onto Tony’s shoulder.

“Sometimes… on bad days… you need to have something to help wind down. Lots to do tomorrow, but… a night of good sleep will help… and a good wind-down will help with that,” he murmured quietly as he brushed the cloth over Tony’s back gently.

Tony's chin, in turn, hooked over Stephen's shoulder as he reached around, sitting in his lap to clean off the mess of his back.

"Tea after this? Get a fire going and just… relax until we get sleepy?" Tony murmured, his eyes closing halfway as he relaxed into Stephen's ministrations. He lazily watched as Friday moved closer to Levi, resting her cheek next to her mate's.

Likewise, he idly brushed away at Stephen's neck and shoulders, rinsing water over it to clean off whatever caked-on cum had lingered in the basin.

“That sounds delightful. Maybe you could tell me some stories about what it was like growing up outside the Sanctum…?” Stephen prompted as he finished with his task, looking to Levi thoughtfully. “I’ll have to help him clean off his belly and get stuff out from under his scales, too, before we relax too much…”

Tony reached over and grabbed a cloth as well along with one of the bars of soap. "Don't think you can hog all the glory yourself," he smiled, wading over to Stephen and helping him along with cleaning the red drake who just as soon rolled onto his back to give the two riders easier access.

"I have a hard time imagining growing up outside the Sanctum, my life wasn't exactly normal by any means," Tony scrubbed at the dragon's belly with some of the soap.

“Normal is a setting on a washing machine, not a life. If you don’t want to talk about your life growing up that’s fine, too, I just thought it might be nice to know a little more about your journey. You seem to have at least one really good friend, an unpleasant father… what about your mother? Any siblings? Bruce talked about schooling before he came here and based on some of the things you’re capable of I wondered if you’d done any such extensive schooling yourself… you know, things like that, I guess.” Stephen smiled a bit as his hands and a scrub brush meant specifically for dragon scales ran over Levi’s belly, leaving the dragon happily crooning at them as he directed them to places that needed to be cleansed.

Tony lightly washed at the dragon's scales, rubbing at them with the cloth in circles idly. "Well I did go to school with Rhodes, he's a childhood friend," he gently pat the dragon's stomach.

"Mum left when I was young and I was mostly raised by our butler Jarvis who was more of a father figure than my actual dad," Tony snorted. "No siblings in the family, an only child here, unless you counted my father's business which I was always competing for attention with. Spoiler alert, I was pretty neglected in the end, didn't quite come out on top," he laughed ironically.

“I’d say you came out on top,” Stephen chuckled softly, watching Tony with a smile. “Look at you now. A leader, a dragon rider, respected and adored all around the Sanctum.

“It explains a lot about why Friday might’ve chosen you. You have a lot of the qualities of leadership and a lot of strengths that make you ideal as a Sanctum leader. Naturally, I can imagine there are any number of other reasons she’d choose you, you two are perfect for each other… But it also goes against everything we’ve been taught about golds for Friday to choose a male rider…”

The red rider hummed, “and that’s still something of a mystery, isn’t it?” Friday gave him a look at that, tilting her head some at the inquiry.

"Well then tell me, Stephen, would you have preferred it any other way given how strange the outcome ended up being?" Tony grinned, scrubbing at the dragon and rinsing it. He peered over at the rider with a knowing grin.

"As much of an ass as you were when we started this crazy adventure, I wouldn't change a damn moment of it," he dunked the cloth in the basin before pulling Stephen in for a kiss, arm fastened around his waist.

“I’m not- no, of course I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way,” Stephen whispered against Tony’s lips, curling his arms around Tony and holding him close. “You’re precious to me, and Friday is the literal light of Levi’s life. We’re both better off for having you and Friday in our lives… and if I’m being honest, I’ve… never been with a woman before,” he added a bit sheepishly. “So I got really lucky with you for a lot of reasons…” His fingers brushed at Tony’s hair gently as he smiled, pressing his forehead against Tony’s.

Tony nudged his head against Stephen's, tilting his head side to side softly, closing his eyes for just a moment.

"Well, I mean who on earth would bend you over and fuck your brains out otherwise? I still can't imagine that would turn out to be a regular ritual for you and whatever lady friend you ended up siding with," Tony teased softly. He leaned in and peppered kisses softly at the corners of Stephen's mouth, lingering there and nosing him.

“Maybe she’d be into pegging, who knows?” Stephen responded with a soft chuckle, “or maybe she’d be fine sharing or watching, and I would have simply continued on with Mordo and Kae… but this is considerably better. Because I love you. You make me happier than I could ever express in words…”

The red rider smiled all the more, giving Tony a little squeeze before sighing a bit. “Shall we get to tea and relaxation? Before we become prunes?” he suggested, watching Tony even as the red dragon rolled over in his spot once again and started to drag himself out of the basin to a small area specifically meant to help the dragons dry off.

"Well you would have been spinning the wheel of fortune with that one," Tony nibbled on Stephen's bottom lip softly before the other man pulled away from him. "I can't say I would have rolled the dice on anyone else either, you're really all that, you know?"

He brushed Stephen's bangs out of his face one more before he smiled and climbed out of the basin, reaching for a towel. He reached down to offer the other rider a hand. "You dry off love, I'll go set the kettle and get the fire started?"

“That sounds lovely. I’ll see you out there in a minute,” Stephen smiled as he climbed out of the basin and pressed a gentle kiss to Tony’s cheek. Gathering himself up into a towel, the red rider made his way over to where his dragon was dripping dry, running his hand over Friday’s scales gently as he passed.

The gold got to her feet again, stretching a bit lazily and following Tony through into the main living space before laying down again on the rug in front of where the fire would eventually be set. < _ Did you have fun?> _ she asked, watching Tony as he set to work making tea. < _ You seemed to enjoy yourself. _ >

< _ It was exactly what I needed, _ > he dressed in a loose robe and poured the boiling water, setting the tea to infuse as he carried the tray and glasses to the fireside and set it down. He stoked the embers of the fire with the poker and put the iron down, procuring a large fuzzy blanket and sitting up against Friday's side as she took up a spot close enough to the fireplace for everyone to gather.

< _ How are you holding up baby girl? _ > Tony reached behind her to gently smooth her slightly swollen belly and smiled.

< _ I'm just fine Tony, _ > she crooned with a soft grumble resting her head in an arch towards the fire. Tony pulled the blanket over his lap and waited for Stephen.

Stephen was the next to join them, staying in nothing but his towel as he cuddled up beside Tony and leaned back against Friday with a smile. He didn’t say anything, tilting his head to rest it against Tony’s, watching the fire. The clicking of claws on stone announced that the still slightly damp Levi joined them, curling mostly around his mate and draping his tail over the two riders.

It was just the four of them. His family. The people in his life who listened to Tony, who loved him and respected him perhaps the way a real family would’ve. For all the honour he’d been told the Stark name meant, he’d never felt more important and more loved in his life than he did in that cuddle pile, bundled under a blanket with the man he loved, watching a fire and having a nice cup of tea.

They’d lost a lot of things, and the day was far from what anyone would’ve considered good, but they hadn’t lost each other. They weren’t alone. There was still hope.

Tony couldn’t ask for much more than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	15. Chapter 15

The next day came around sooner than either of them had hoped for. For as nice as the temporary respite from all the turbulent events of the days were, they weren't in the clear just yet. They had a lot of work left to do.

A good night of rest was all the two riders were given, though Tony did wake a few times in the night, his mind occupied by the green rider who may or may not be pronounced near brain dead soon enough. It was a haunting thought to mull about, so any time he felt his mind wandering he'd dig his face into Stephen and close his eyes, willing those awful thoughts away.

Both riders had woken up at the crack of dawn to ready the meeting, along with a proper burial for those KIA, there was a lot to deal with in terms of loved ones and visitations where both the Sanctum leaders needed to make appearances and say some final words on behalf of the deceased.

The day was packed full and Rhodes was scheduled to arrive just a few minutes from now, and Tony was already nearly running on empty from the mental exhaustion. They'd set up the comm room for a meeting, prepared to go over the footage of yesterday - lawyers, for now, were kept out until there could be negotiations. It would be between Rhodes and the Sanctum to discuss the events of yesterday before any sort of legal action was taken, and what course of action the Sanctum was willing to take.

“Colonel Rhodes has just landed. Levi’s picking him up to bring him here,” Stephen informed him as he entered the comms room, setting a cup of coffee down on the table and leaning to press a soft kiss to the top of Tony’s head. “And Peter’s waiting in the canteen for us to talk to once we finish this meeting. Pepper seems to be rather delighted by the fire-lizards, and she and May seem to be getting along well. We’ll join them later for lunch, hm?” he suggested as he took up a seat with his cup of tea cradled between his hands.

Tony looked like death incarnate, attempting to chase after Stephen's lips stubbornly as they left his forehead.

He sighed.

< _ Your guest Rhodes is here, are the both of you ready? _ > Levi bellowed loudly to announce his arrival as his feet touched down from the smooth glide and he lowered himself to let his passenger down.

< _ Yeah, we're good, red. _ >

Friday chirped happily at the return of her mate and the two bumped noses as the red curled around her and rested outside of the comms room contently. Rhodes looked behind him at the drake, having given Levi a soft pat and a quiet thank you as he walked through the doors to greet the two Sanctum leaders.

"Tones, you look like shit," Rhodey smirked, sitting himself down at the table. "Stephen, hope you're doing well," he nodded to the other leader.

"Morning to you too, Rhodey," Tony grumbled, exhausted as he fingered his own cup of coffee.

“There’s a lot going on, I think at this point we have a right to look and feel not our best,” Stephen responded, inclining his head politely. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Colonel, I wish the circumstances were more fortuitous.” 

The red rider gestured to a seat and Rhodey took it, shaking his head a bit with a soft sigh. “Right. Circumstances. I guess we should talk about that. 

“Naturally given his influence and money, Howard’s under a cozy house-arrest and confident that none of this is going to hold. I wish I could say he was entirely wrong, but General Ross seems to be of the impression that Howard’s in the right here, and did what was necessary for the protection of this country. Not everyone agrees with him on the matter, and the fact that he went over the heads of military personnel and wound up catching soldiers as well as non-military personnel in this attack of his still leaves him in a bad place. How’s the situation here?”

“Four dead riders and six dead dragons, and two more riders essentially catatonic. One rider is still in critical condition, but if he dies, we’ll lose another dragon, as well as the other seventeen injured, riders and dragons, all of whom are expected to make recoveries, though it will take time,” Stephen recited easily. “It could have been much worse, but then we could have avoided casualties altogether without interference.”

"I know I'm here on behalf of both Stark Industries and the military. I can't say our men saw nearly as many casualties as the Sanctum riders but I know you can probably twist the secretary's arm by claiming a lawsuit under the heritage and native species act. That might really require twisting it a bit. Either way, you can't cover up murder and slaughter. Tony, you must have records and digital logs of everything that had been arranged, Bruce as well?"

Tony nodded, "Everything. I have audio and video recordings, signed papers and schedules we negotiated. The entire premise of us using Stark's facilities was so that we could eliminate the threat out in the water considering the military tried and were unsuccessful. We have video recordings from all different angles of the blast and no records of Stark Industries scheduling missile tests that day."

"Hold onto that footage and keep it safe, it's going to be nearly impossible for them to defend against raw evidence. What kind of actions do you think you'll be taking from here?"

Rhodey regarded Stephen, hands folded on the table in front of him.

“Legal actions? None at the moment. We have other priorities before pursuing recourse in this matter. Of course, all the money in the world isn’t going to make up for the loss of our people or the dragons,” Stephen responded clearly. 

For as well as Tony and Rhodey knew each other, Tony was familiar with the behaviour Stephen was displaying now. Businesslike. Cool. Detached. Stephen was making efforts to remain apart from his frustration and sorrow regarding the tragedy the day before.

“But we need those skies clear to make a full push at getting rid of that thing. I’m not risking more of our people being used as bait. We need to do our jobs and that means being allowed to do our jobs without interference. How long will that take?”

Rhodey paused in his spot, glancing at Tony uncertainly for a moment before sighing. “A day, maybe? Are you sure you don’t want any military aid whatsoever?”

“Absolutely certain.”

“We didn’t launch that attack-”

“Perhaps not, but you stated there are people you work for that are on the side of Stark Industries in that matter. If they’re willing to risk lives unnecessarily and without warning, then I don’t want them anywhere near our people.”

"Understood. I'll move them out of the area immediately."

"God forbid we can't take down that thing in the water, then we'd be willing to work with the military, but you know that guns and most missiles have no effect on it whatsoever," Tony put his hands down on the table.

"If anything we'd want compensation for the family and lives lost, but it's not like we plan to go out of our way to sue. Howard knows he fucked up, the Sanctum is self-sufficient so the only money would be for relief, we aren't exactly struggling here." Tony looked to Stephen so see what the other master would say in consideration to this.

"Howard's gearing up for this massive lawsuit, there's nothing like Stephen said, that could pay off the loss of life. Just give us the skies, and then when we talk about legal we can worry about the financial restitution later." 

Rhodey nodded, an earnest look on his face. "That I can do for you Tones," he looked to the red rider, "Stephen."

“Thank you,” Stephen responded softly, relaxing back into his spot slightly and sipping at his tea. “We’ll get the Sanctum prepared for tomorrow, then, and once the skies are cleared we’ll launch our own attack. 

“As to finances, it’s not as though the medical wing couldn’t use some upgrades to better care for both the dragons and their riders,” the red rider added as he looked at Tony. “Medical technology is rapidly advancing and while we have skilled doctors our facilities are still lacking. Perhaps that’s something that could in some way be remedied in all of this.”

Getting to his feet, Stephen inclined his head to the Colonel before offering Tony a small smile. “I’m going to have a quick talk with Thor and leave you two to catch up for a few. I’ll meet you in the canteen when you’re done for our talk with Peter?”

"I can tell you our demands are going to be but a drop in the ocean for Stark Industries when it comes to compensation," Tony stood and walked around the other side of the table to pull Rhodey into a hug. It was brief before Rhodey turned to Stephen with a hand extended.

The red rider hesitated for a moment, looking at his hand before tentatively reaching out and shaking Rhodey's as well.

"I'll communicate these demands to Stark when I get a chance, we might not even need to go legal if he complies, but he's been a loose cannon lately. Ironically enough I think the dragon armour project cost your old man more than upgrades to the medical wing might amount to," Rhodes shook his head. "Your old man is just stubborn."

"You can say that again." Tony turned to plant a kiss on Stephen's cheek before the other man nodded and exited the ward. "Give Thor my regards. If you need me, Stephen, let me know," Tony had an apologetic look and Stephen returned a soft smile, placing a kiss in return on Tony's forehead.

“Levi will be in touch if I need anything,” Stephen smiled, before inclining his head politely to Rhodey again. “Thank you for coming by on such short order, Colonel Rhodes.”

“Of course, least I could do…” the other man responded before watching the red rider leave and turning a questioning look on Tony. 

“... so. You two dating or something? He seems kinda… colder than most people you’ve shown an interest in before. Or maybe he just hates me?” Rhodey grinned weakly at that. “And if he hates me you know I can’t let you marry him or whatever you Sanctum people do. My best friend’s boyfriend better love me, or I can’t give my blessings.”

Tony shook his head. "No, that's just how he is, shy… he also has a thing about his hands and for good reason. He's got nerve damage which is why he didn't really want to shake," Tony smiled as it was just the both of them.

"We've been under a lot of pressure here, one of his childhood friends was one of the people basically pronounced catatonic. We've all been taking it pretty hard and he also doesn't know you’re on our side, so he can't help but give you the business side of things," Tony laughed clapping a hand down on his shoulder.

"I can take you to the canteen, we were supposed to meet Peter there. You're also staying until tomorrow still, right? I think it would be best for you to oversee the next mission considering you are military." 

Rhodes nodded. "Yeah… and alright, but I better see this nice side of him when all of this blows over, I'm not joking on that Tones," he laughed and the two of them went out to join Friday who was patiently waiting and perked when both men approached.

The familiar little red fire-lizard flew out to greet them the moment they arrived in the canteen and there was a series of chirps that greeted Tony as the creature perched himself on Tony’s shoulder and sniffed curiously at Rhodes. The man gave the tiny dragon a confused look for a moment before a few others came to greet them, followed by Peter.

“Tony!” Peter greeted cheerfully, waving a bit and offering a smile, “how are you today? I hope you’re feeling a little better after yesterday…”

May gave a little wave, and Pepper smiled from her spot across the table from the woman. “I guess I’m back on duty. What can I get for you boys?”

"Hey kid," Tony walked over and ruffled Peter's hair, chuckling as the red fire-lizard scuttled around on his shoulder before inspecting Rhodes. The creature didn't seem to have any shame as it climbed over Rhodes and then onto the Colonel's noggin, draping over his head.

"We just had a meeting, wanted to see how you were holding up here?" The entire brood of fire-lizards had been scattered around the pub, roosting or resting around various bar patrons, one even on Pepper's shoulder as she made her rounds to serve the patrons of the canteen.

"Alright, alright I see the appeal in all this, can't say I would mind one of my own," Rhodes prodded at the small lizard on his head and in turn, received a lick to his finger and a soft croak.

"I hope you've had your manners in check," Tony nudged Peter. 

"I have!"

Pepper walked out and smiled, handing Tony his usual and asking Rhodes what he would like. "Actually, Peter's been assisting me around the canteen, he's been wonderful." Pepper set the glasses down.

“See?” Peter sniffed a bit, before smiling a bit. “Stephen said you two wanted to talk about the fire-lizards some? It’s still so weird calling them that since I was just calling them dragonets for the last two years. I didn’t know they had a name. I’ve been learning a lot about them here, but I definitely could still use some help figuring out how to uh… deal with a pregnant dragonet- er, a fire-lizard. I don’t really know how any of it works. I mean, I know now’s a bad time and there’s other stuff going on, but I just thought it might be nice to know how this works and if I can help her at all…”

“Peter, slow down. Come and finish eating your lunch,” May chimed from her spot at the table, looking thoroughly entertained by the boy’s rambling. “And let them sit down and rest some, would you?”

“Yeah, okay!” Peter responded, shuffling back to the table to sit himself down, but watching Tony and Rhodey thoughtfully.

"Yeah, so about that," Tony smiled, taking a seat, Rhodey joining beside him.

"I don't think Stephen told you, yesterday during the mission, there were casualties," Tony's mood seemed to falter for a moment, "and, I don't think you understand how dragons and their relationships with humans work, but once a dragon loses a human, they cease to have the will to keep living and blink out of existence, whereas a human starts to slowly lose their sense of self if they lose a dragon and need to be restrained so they don't become suicidal." Tony bit his lip as the teen seemed almost confused as to why all this information was being shared with him.

"Eventually the riders become catatonic and unresponsive, and they are never the same way again. Thus far we've never found a cure for this," Tony continued. "But we wanted to ask you, if when your queen lays her clutch, if we can try imprinting some of the whelps on the those dragonless, to see if it can repair the connection the loss of a drake caused." It was almost as if there was an overload of information to Peter as he looked back at Tony bug-eyed.

“You think… they could help?” Peter inquired curiously, looking at the chubby gold dragon perched on his shoulder for a moment before collecting her up and setting her on the table, much to her displeasure if her squawking was to be believed. “I don’t think I could take care of a whole new clutch of fire-lizards, but if they could help these people… I mean, are there a lot of them? I don’t know how many eggs she’ll lay. There were twelve of these guys but only seven of them hatched. You’d probably want to bring two to each of them just in case one didn’t hatch… but that would only leave about six people that might be able to be helped.”

The teen looked up at Tony with a smile as he scratched the underside of his little gold’s chin. “If they can help people of course I’m happy to help! I mean, I can’t talk to them like you can talk to dragons or anything,” he added, “I can kinda tell that they’re happy or they’re sad or whatnot, and sometimes they show me like… images of stuff? But I can’t really hold a conversation with them psychically like you guys do.”

"I don't expect it would be the same," Tony started, "but we are playing with luck here, and regardless if they imprint and it doesn't work, we have the resources to take care of them. Maybe we could even gather everyone together rather than separate the eggs, bring everyone to one place - I can't imagine it would be a problem if multiple imprinted. regardless, we have the resources to take care of them with whatever outcome." Tony gently brushed a finger along the chubby gold's neck which almost earned him a nip.

"Dragons were bred from these little guys, and it’s been a while since we've even seen them," Tony smiled up at Peter and the youth returned it. 

"Of course, anything I can do to help."

“Are you talking about like… emotional support mini-dragons?” Rhodey piped up after a moment, looking between Tony, the boy, and the red dragon that had perched on his shoulder. “Because that sounds pretty amazing, I gotta tell you.”

“It only really works if, y’know, it works. I mean, I really hope it works! It sounds like there are some people who could really benefit, and they’re really smart and fun to have around! I just… hope it works.”

“I take it you’ve discussed the fire-lizards thing with him, then,” Stephen stated as he joined them at the table, taking up a seat beside Peter and smiling softly. “You’re okay with it then, Peter?”

“Yeah! It’s not like I can house another clutch, and if they’re helping people that’s more important than anything else I could hope to do with them.”

Tony smiled as Stephen joined them, a hand on the red rider's arm as he took a seat and slipped his arm around Tony's waist.

"Yeah, we spoke with Peter, looks like he's all for lending us his next clutch," Tony squeezed him, it took him a moment to register Rhodey's comment about the dragons. "Emotional support dragons… I guess that would be the term for that. And who knows, the lucky ones may get more than one since it seems more than one can imprint on a human," he smiled.

"Now, it's finally nice to sit down with you Stephen without the professional wall between us," Rhodes prodded softly at Stephen.

“Oh, there’s still a professional wall between us,” Stephen stated, though he gave Rhodey a small smile as he said that. “If there’s any shovel talk to be had, you should know that Levi would never let anything happen to me, and would really rather I wasn’t at odds with his beloved’s rider, and I promise that no shovel talk will ever be more frightening than being stared down by a pissed-off dragon, so…”

“Shovel talk?” Peter inquired briefly, receiving a little pat from Stephen as Rhodey chuckled and shook his head.

“No shovel talk. But as I told Tony, I can’t bless any weddings if we can’t be friends,” the man gave a little grin.

“Wait, wedding?” the red rider sat up a little straighter, looking between Rhodes and Tony for a moment in some surprise. “Did… did I miss something?”

"Well, you know..." Tony started, a little worried by Stephen's response to Rhodey's jesting. "I mean, we are in a way kind of married, I mean I figured - er, or assumed eventually-" Tony stopped himself, looking to Rhodes with some pleading in his gaze as if expecting the man to bail him out.

The colonel looked just as put on the spot, uncertain if he'd said something wrong and there was a conceived stiff air around the table for just that moment.

"Wait you mean you guys aren't already married!?" Peter chirped, leaning forwards onto the table which spurred the chubby gold on his shoulder to bray in discontent from the sudden movement.

Tony simply bit his lip, his fingers turning white as he gripped the edge of the table.

“It’s not… a marriage…” Stephen looked completely perplexed as he clarified for Peter’s sake more than anything, but his hand reached out to gently settle on Tony’s as he brushed a thumb over the gold rider’s knuckles. “You’re giving the non-Sanctum people the wrong idea here, Tony.”   
  
He watched Tony carefully, giving his hand a little squeeze as he shook his head. “But let’s give it some time before we have the rest of that talk, hm? Give you some time to get sick of me before you make any rash decisions.”

Pepper, bless her, arrived with food for Tony and Rhodey soon enough, scooting off to get a drink for Stephen before making her way to get the chefs cooking Stephen’s usual. Rhodey seemed more than content to hide in his food for a few moments to try and let the awkward moment pass.

Tony's face seemed to flare and he was quick to take a good long swig of his beer as the items were all set down on the table. It was stress or embarrassment but the gold rider had consumed nearly half of his beer by the time he'd put it down, having zoned out for a hot moment. Regardless, Tony turned his hand over, curling his fingers into Stephen's despite the situation, feeling just more than a tad flustered from the conversation.

"So tomorrow's the big mission, yeah? Can I come in and watch again?" And bless Peter for breaking the silence as he sat back, water in front of him as he looked between the group of people who were acting like there was some elephant in the room.

Tony put his drink down, sputtering a little and hitting his chest at the teen's inquiry.

“This isn’t some television show, Peter. I know you want to help, but it might be best to let the Sanctum-folk focus on their job,” May stated gently to the teen, reaching out to pat his shoulder a little. “Maybe they’ll let you leave Ned with them to keep their spirits up?”

“On that note,” Stephen sighed softly, continuing to hold Tony’s hand, “I don’t think Thor should be there tomorrow. I just don’t think he’s okay after what happened yesterday…”

“What do you mean?” Rhodes asked quietly, looking to the red rider curiously.

“One of the people rendered dragonless - into a state similar to catatonia - was his brother. Thor is one of our red riders and without him on the field I have a lot of concerns about how things will go. On the other hand, given how angry he is I’m worried he’ll make mistakes. I’ve told him to stay here so that we’re not risking anyone needlessly but…” the red rider trailed off, gently squeezing Tony’s hand.

“I need to go with them tomorrow. The red riders from your clutch aren’t trained well enough yet to be leading anything and I don’t like the idea of being down so many red riders on a mission this big.”

Tony's head snapped back to Stephen immediately.

"You can't- Stephen, Friday needs Levi here, and I need you here to oversee things. Levi still has open sores on his tail, you can't be serious," Tony bit his lip, his heart rate going from zero to a hundred in a manner of seconds.

"Send in some of the browns, if we end up losing y-" he cut himself off, gritting his teeth. If the air wasn't stifling before it was going to be a lot harder to breathe now and things were once again awkward at the dinner table for everyone seemingly caught in between the argument.

Of all the places Stephen could bring this up, here, in front of everyone had been his decision, and a pretty shitty one.

Not seeming to see the issue with the discussion, Stephen continued on as he ran his thumb over Tony’s knuckles. “The browns are going to be there already, Tony. I’m not a monarch, my life isn’t somehow more important than the life of anyone else in this Sanctum. You’re perfectly capable of running things from here on your own for the mission.” 

Stephen’s voice was calm and steady and the red rider’s focus was entirely settled on Tony as he watched Tony with a gentle smile before bowing his head to kiss the back of Tony’s hand. “Levi’s good to fly. You’ve made sure we’re all armoured. I won’t take any risks, and that’s precisely the point of my going instead of Thor.”

"That doesn't mean you're not important to the Sanctum as a whole! You're more than just one of the leaders Stephen, and if god forbid something were to happen out there-! Friday wouldn't have anyone to help take care of the clutch - we can't do this all on our own. You're not as dispensable as you think you are, there's a lot of people that are relying on both you and Levi. Am I the only one who has a problem with this?!" Tony drew back, a surge of coldness wracking through him as he looked almost frantically between everyone.

Images of the old Sanctum leader flashed through his mind, then Loki and it all started to hit him in a wave. Maybe he was way too emotionally distraught, or just too emotional for the job in general, but he couldn't imagine Stephen riding in to fight that thing and even more so end up knocked out because of whatever freak circumstances. Stephen barely made it out the last time, and as confident as he was about the mission's success, he couldn't risk them. Not Levi. Not Stephen.

He couldn't handle losing Stephen, despite how young their relationship was.

"Excuse me," he muttered quietly, Rhodes hadn't looked up to him, Peter seemed uncomfortable and May was fidgeting like she was trying to find a distraction. Tony made an expedient exit from the room. It was too stifling, there were too many eyes on him, and Stephen was clueless as to why there was even a problem at all, which made him feel like the king of fools there.

"Tony." No one else followed, but Stephen apparently hadn't had enough of his bullshit yet and felt the need to trail after him. "Tony, wait. Please..."

He didn't want to wait. He wanted to leave. He wanted Stephen to say he wouldn't go. He wanted to watch Friday and Levi snuggle in close and feel that sense of safety and security. He wanted his baby girl to be happy - he wanted to be happy himself, without all the additional strain. 

But here they were, standing outside the canteen with Stephen behind him, not reaching out to touch him but simply watching him and waiting for a sign of acknowledgement.

"You don't get it, do you…?" Tony stopped, turning around. He'd led them out of the crowded canteen and into their own space, Friday and Levi both watching the two of them and a melancholy grumble escaped the gold. 

"Maybe I'm selfish for wanting you back alive, and maybe I'm selfish for wanting to make sure Friday has her mate the next day. But you don't realize how this affects me! I almost lost you the first time, I lost Loki, and I may lose you again..." 

There was a silence between them and Tony was close to hopping on Friday and absconding somewhere in the Sanctum to just get some breathing space.

"I know I'm not Sanctum born, and I know I don't get, and I'm well aware that we-" Tony gestured between them, "-have really only been a thing for a week or so, but I can't afford to lose you. I can't do this alone, and I care way too damn much to give you up to that thing - god forbid this mission go belly-up," Tony didn't move, imposing a distance between them.

"Do you honestly think I want to go off to  _ die _ , Tony?" Stephen asked softly. "Last time I went we were unprepared for an attack. We're not unprepared this time. I'm not so naïve as to think we'll all make it through unscathed, but if the mission goes belly up there won't be much of a Sanctum left to run - Friday and her clutch will be the only thing left to give hope that this Sanctum will recover, but if that thing doesn't die then what use will it be? What will Loki have become like this for? What will the others have died for?"

He offered a hand to the gold rider, not forcing contact or moving any closer, but inquiring. "I love you, Tony, Levi loves Friday for all the world but I've never loved someone the way I love you. I don't want to lose you, either, but if this mission went wrong and I wasn’t there to help... I could face losing exactly that: losing you, losing Friday, losing this Sanctum, maybe losing the Americas themselves... I wish we could just curl up in bed together and forget all of this. I can't, but I wish so much that I could. I wish we were obsolete, that there was no attack, that this was all a bad nightmare..."

"God Stephen," Tony shook his head. He really couldn't argue with him, as reasonable as his side of the argument was. The other man had a pleading look on his face as he held his trembling hand out and Tony simply stood at a distance trying to digest everything.

So many emotions, so many feelings, so much responsibility, Tony felt he could just fall apart. The mantle of responsibility for the Sanctum was almost too much for him considering both their positions and everything that had happened as of late..

"You're such an asshole, Stephen, you know that?" Tony closed his eyes and took a few steps forward, nudging Stephen's hand out of the way as he pulled Stephen into a crushing hug. He hid his face in Stephen's shoulder, shaking his head. "I hate this so much, all of this. I hate that you're right, I don't want to lose you, I love you - so much. I've never loved anyone more in my entire life. I can't lose you," he shut his eyes and nodded his head into Stephen's shoulder.

< _ I made my queen a promise to come back safe, _ > Levi’s voice filtered into his mind as Stephen curled his arms tightly around Tony, whispering a few soft apologies and his love. < _ I’ll bring Stephen back safe as well. I promised Stephen that I would catch Friday and I did that - I’ll do this, too, Tony. There’s no reason to fret. _ >

< _ You've never let me down, red, you better hold true to that. For both our sakes, _ > the engineer let out a long breath before opening his eyes, feeling substantially better after his miniature meltdown.

“... I am flattered so that you know,” Stephen murmured softly, pressing soft kisses to his neck, “that you are thinking of us getting married one day. I don’t know what I did so right that you’d want to keep me that long or to have earned the love of someone as amazing as you. I’m not going to give something this special up for anything, Tony.”

He finally pulled back from Stephen, but only enough so that he didn't have head buried in the red rider’s tunic, finally finding his smile. "I swear to god Stephen if you end up dying, I'm going to kill you," he laughed softly, eyes red even though he wasn't crying, but seemingly muffled by the other's tunic.

"I can't lose you, ever, you're so important to me and yes I've been considering marriage. I think about myself and my future and I can't see one without you there. Maybe I'm crazy for looking so far ahead, but I've never been more certain about anything else in my life, other than wanting to become a Sanctum rider," he let his arms slacken, closing his eyes once again to relish in his body heat.

Stephen’s hold didn’t loosen in the slightest as he held Tony against him, a hand brushing through brown locks gently as he continued to press kisses along Tony’s neck and jaw. “Are you trying to say you’re crazy about me?” he teased quietly, mumbling against his skin, “because that certainly sounds a little crazy. As you said, I’m an asshole. You see yourself spending your whole future with an asshole?”

"Yeah, well I'd say that's a good way of putting it. You really do drive me crazy, I swear," Tony relented, an absolute sucker for the affection Stephen was bestowing upon him. He turned his head, nosing the other's head off of his neck before taking his lips in his own and forcing entrance with his tongue, hands curled into the fabric of his tunic.

The other didn’t hesitate to return the kiss, his arms tightening once more around Tony as his head tilted slightly to make things a little easier. There was something desperate and loving in the red rider’s response, and neither rider noticed the tails that curled around them to block them off from the curious gazes of passersby.

* * *

The next morning was a rush.

Peter and Rhodes sat in the comms room, preparing for what they expected would be a long event. Peter was helping to ferry things from place to place while Rhodes remained busily on the phone making certain that no one was preparing to interfere with the Sanctum’s attack. Elsewhere in the Sanctum dragons were being armoured up and prepared. Unlike when the mass of greens went on the offensive, the gathering of dragons being prepared this time was like something out of a dream.

Stephen and Tony stood on a platform near the top of the Sanctum, just outside of their quarters as the pair worked on armouring Levi up - Tony had offered to help given Stephen’s hands weren’t so great at precision work. Below them the Sanctum looked like a beehive, everyone flitting around and preparing, teflon glinting in the sun. It was hard to tell which dragons were which colours anymore, with everyone in a fine shade of black. Levi’s armour, as all the armour for red riders was, boasted a line of red along either side to make him more easily visible to the troops, though Tony had taken the time the night before to add a bit of gold to the armour on the red dragon’s crest to make it easier for Tony to identify him.

Levi cooperated for the most part, though it was clear the dragon wanted little more than to curl up with his fretful mate, who was feeding off the anxious energy of her rider as she paced back and forth, and around the red dragon with soft, worried chirrs. Stephen cast a look between her and Tony for a moment before reaching out to rest a hand on the gold rider’s gently.

“Are you going to help me suit up, too?” he inquired with a reassuring smile, “so that you know I’m well protected?”

"Just a second, I need to make sure the both of you are properly outfitted." 

Levi seemed to grow restless as he knew at this point Tony was just fretting mindlessly. The armour had already been secured, doublechecked and now the engineer’s anal-retentive nature at the moment had him triple-checking each of the buckles.  Levi was aware the armour was on, he shook and let out a restless huff, lightly side-checking Tony towards Stephen.

"Alright- alright, yeah I just want to make sure you're safe, red," Tony frowned and slapped the armour of the dragon.

He soon enough joined Stephen, picking up the light-aluminum breast-plate and centring it on Stephen's chest. Stephen had T-posed, waiting for Tony to help position it. Once the suit was on it seemed to fold, growing and wrapping around his limbs like it had a mind of its own until Stephen was completely geared in a very futuristic looking suit.

"Oh, yeah yours is special because I'm not taking chances with you. Keep it to yourself, not everyone got one," he grinned as Stephen seemed to look completely confused as to what just happened with his armour.

“I love you, too,” Stephen responded with a playful smile at all that, watching from the corner of his eye as Levi carefully pranced his way over to the gold dragon to show off his armour in his own attempt to soothe her nerves about things. It was a very showy display of ‘see? I’m completely covered!’ if he’d ever seen it, and the red made no bones about hopping into the air to show he could fly with it just as well.

“This is quite a piece of technology. I don’t think I’ve ever been near anything quite so advanced… I certainly feel well protected,” the red rider added as he leaned to give Tony a chaste peck on the lips.

Tony grabbed Stephen's hands and held both of them in his own as he returned the kiss.

"It's only slightly heavier than wearing a heavy winter coat, and you should have more movement than one too," Tony added, despite having confidence in his own handiwork there was still uncertainty in his tone.

Friday chirred softly and landed her head over Levi's backside once the dragon had come down again, trying to get as much time in with him as she possibly could. Levi let out a soft croon, craning his head to reach around and nuzzle at her cheek in return.

“I shouldn’t need too much maneuverability anyway. Levi will be doing most of the heavy lifting here, I’m just along for the ride,” Stephen teased, squeezing Tony’s hands gently. “You’ll only have a small contingent of dragons left here with you. About five wings not including the injured. Three hundred dragons should be sufficient to take care of all of this. We’ll be cautious and I’ll be in direct contact with you the whole time. I appreciate your concern and attention to detail, though. That will be helpful.”

"I still want you to be as safe as you can be. For the record though, I'm still against all of this," Tony leaned in again to steal another quick kiss. "You better make it count." 

Stephen continued to smile and squeezed his hands softly. "Levi and I both will, we'll be back before you know it even," Stephen soothed.

"That's a promise?" 

"Yeah, without a doubt, mark my words - and Levi's!" Stephen chuckled, walking over to the armoured drake with Tony in tow by the hand.

Levi continued to snuggle in against his mate before giving a quiet chirp as he leaned down to nudge Tony with his nose, his eyes colourful and bright with emotion as he watched the gold rider before edging away from his queen and extending a wing to help Stephen up. The rider hesitated to let go of Tony’s hand, leaning to give him one more kiss before pulling his helmet on and giving the hand a gentle squeeze.

His gaze turned to the gold dragon and he smiled. “Take care of Tony for me while we’re away, okay? I’m leaving him in your very capable paws, sweetheart.”

Friday crooned anxiously and directed her attention to Stephen, nosing her face into the red rider's chest and letting out some soft chirrs and peeps.

Stephen smiled, petting her snout before nodding and hopping up onto Levi's back. 

< _ Take care of my mate, Stephen. You two better come back, _ > she crooned softly to him and Tony climbed up onto her back once Stephen had mounted onto his drake.

"Friday and I will fly up to see the dragons off. We'll be in contact every step of the way so make sure to keep the line on." Tony had an unsure look on his face, but all he could do was smile sadly as if he was seeing off his beloved before they left for war.

“I can guarantee that I’ll keep the line open for you always,” Stephen chuckled as they prepared to take off to join the remainder of the dragons prepared around the Sanctum. “Make sure you’re ready to send the remaining greens to assist any injured when we’re on our way back. Just in case… I’d rather we were prepared. If they’re prearranged with nets to carry it’ll probably work out for the best. I spoke briefly with Pepper about it, so she should be on task once you’re all set up with food and such in the comms room…”

"Everything will be ready, the medical ward is on standby, the greens will also be ready as well when you return," Tony nodded, smoothing the side of Friday's neck to ease her some.

Friday flared her wings restlessly, circling around Levi and bumping up against him. The two dragons were communicating with one another as Tony and Stephen finished off their checks. Her tail curled around Levi's and she continued to nudge and bump the side of his armoured head with her own, receiving soft bellows and chirrups in return.

“Alright. We’ll be in touch and be home before you know it,” Stephen gave a short nod at that before Levi gently disentangled himself from Friday, nudging her nose briefly before he dove from the platform into a glide, giving an audible call to the waiting dragons. There was a flaring of several pairs of wings as Stephen’s wing of dragons greeted him, Kaecilius and Cagliostro shuffling to one side and Wong with Watoomb shuffling the other way to make space for the red dragon and his mate to land.

Kaecilius gave Tony a polite nod as his brown dragon lowered his head in deference to his queen, while Wong gave them both a serious look. “Everyone’s ready to head out when you are. We’ve marked designated break points to make sure the entire group arrives at the attack point together. Each wing knows where to break.”

“Good. Firestone is all loaded up?”

Kaecilius responded to that with a nod. “We’ve dug out the reserves. We should be fully armed for this.”

There was a cacophony of dragon calls as all at once the wings were commanded to take off. Levi was the first into the air, and then one by one he was joined by dragons of a varying array. Chromatic scales shining in the sun as their colours blotted out the skies above the Sanctum and began their voyage to the coast.

Tony was up there to watch as the flock grew farther away, Friday calling out to them before Tony flew back down to meet Peter and Rhodes who were already at the comms room assisted by Pepper and a few of her cooks.

"Now, we wait. I hope you're good at doing that kid," Tony gave Friday a gentle pet as he dismounted, greeting Peter and his flurry of dragons with a smile that he tried to make more confident than he felt. Worry continued to eat at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter warning for some depictions of violence or gore that may be uncomfortable for readers.

The flight was long and Stephen made sure to keep in touch with Tony through each leg of their journey, reassuring Levi with gentle pets when the red dragon got agitated over his queen’s distress. He felt awful knowing the stress he was leaving on Tony. As scary as the idea of dying was he knew from personal experience how terrible it felt to be left behind to manage everything alone and unprepared. Everything had happened so fast and as brilliant as Tony was he knew the man could handle it - that didn’t mean it would be a walk in the park.

It was their last break before they reached the site that Stephen approached Mordo, quietly sitting beside him as Levi drank some water off to one side.

Brown eyes looked up to meet his with curiosity, but neither man said a word at first. Mordo waited patiently, aware that Stephen was getting his thoughts together, and when the red leader finally spoke it began with a sigh.

“I’m prepared for all of this, but the best way to be fully prepared is to accept the possibility that things may not go as planned,” he started and Mordo’s expression turned sombre. “If anything happens to Levi and I, I want you to leave the battle immediately. Tony could lead the Sanctum alone, I believe that. But I don’t want him to have to. He deserves the help, especially if Friday is brooding and grieving all at once. I need to know that they’ll be taken care of.”

“And you’d ask me rather than Steve?” Mordo inquired of his friend lowly, recognizing that the red leader was pointedly avoiding alerting the dragons or anyone else to the nature of their conversation.

“It’s not that I don’t think Steve would take care of Tony,” Stephen chuckled softly, “or that I’d be the most put off knowing that Steve cares about Tony. But Steve would never abandon the battlefield. He wouldn’t listen to that kind of instruction and worse he’d sit around telling me I should be more positive, harping on me about believing in myself and the like. I appreciate the optimism, but I need someone who will listen. I need to concentrate on the fight ahead, not worrying about what happens if everything goes sideways.”

Mordo gave a nod at that, offering Stephen some of his rations. “Fair enough. I won’t pretend I like it, but you’re the red leader and I’ll abide by your wishes. The Sanctum must continue to thrive and if this battle doesn’t go to plan then it’s important that the Sanctum is given an opportunity to rebuild.”

“Thank you, old friend,” the red leader smiled slightly, leaning his shoulder against the other red rider’s.

Mordo snorted at that, shaking his head. “Don’t thank me for agreeing to abandon you if things get rough. Casualties are inevitable but don’t expect that I like the idea of leaving my friend and former lover to die.”

“I thought you might get a tiny bit of glee out of it at least,” Stephen teased in return as Levi made his way over, flopping himself beside Stephen and the other red rider. “You always did seem to enjoy watching me suffer.”

“You do suffer so beautifully, Stephen, can you blame me? Really?”

The rest almost felt like it dragged on the way the riders idled around unsure. They weren't necessarily near the coast, but the wind carried the distinct scent of salt on each gale as it blew. Most of the riders sat in silence, it seemed to be only Stephen that was fully aware of the dangers that they would be flying into, given that the last time the greens had faced the beast it had been a success despite the equally great loss they experienced.

Eventually, the dragons rose again, Stephen in the lead as their multicoloured wings flew on the updrafts that wove between those leathery dragon wings. Things were eerily calm and it was either beautiful or haunting how perfect the day turned out to be for the dragons’ flight and eventual battle.

Hours of flying and Stephen halted the flight of dragons again where the greens had set down the last time, their trails still in the ground and some of the destruction still evident. Stephen turned to the gathering, waiting for the flight to halt before he queued in on his comm.

"We've just reached the coast. Tony are you there?"

Stephen knew that back in the Sanctum Tony had Stephen and all the riders in view, drones, go-pros, cameras, all recording. To make matters better there wasn't a single military vehicle in sight other than the naval ships in the ocean and stationed soldiers who were there with the only purpose of keeping the perimeter clear.

"Rhodes says there are no Stark Industries weapons, no one other than soldiers. There isn't anything for you or the dragons to worry about… You know, besides the big purple monster in the ocean.

"Load up the dragons with firestone and advance when you are ready. With luck, we should be able to finish this. Surprisingly, the monster hasn't really grown, either it's gathering its strength or something else is up entirely," Tony put the comm down and narrowed his eyes. "Be careful, don't underestimate it, please Stephen."

"Levi and I will be very careful Tony."

The riders were at attention as they split into two groups - their ‘rest’ group and their ‘attack’ group - with Stephen leading the attack to start and Steve in charge of the temporarily idle group. Someone made a comment about having sushi for dinner tonight and a series of nervous laughs spread through the crowd before Stephen mounted Levi again, feeding him several large chunks of firestone and preparing to take off.

“Load up and get ready to move out,” he called to the hundred and some men and women and their dragons. “Let’s get rid of this thing as quickly as possible and go home.”

The dragons took to the air shortly after, gaining altitude as the main host of attackers split off into various wings. Quill and his wing veered off to the right-most edge of the afflicted area, Mordo to the left and the young red rider from Tony’s clutch and his wing hung behind where Stephen and Levi led their own wing forward cautious and careful, higher in the sky than they really ought to have risen but with the intention of getting a good view of the monstrosity that lay below them.

It seemed to sprawl out impossibly, though it was, in fact, smaller than it had been before, the breach itself smaller than it had been before as well, leaving Stephen to smile. 

“It’s less of a mess here than it was before, are you seeing what I’m seeing, Tony?” he inquired of his partner as Mordo and Quill’s wings began to flare out to either side of him spewing long lines of bright blue as they began their attack.

"Hard and fast Stephen, I want you home sooner than later," Tony articulated through the intercom.

Levi bellowed anxiously as all the dragons hovered there. Everyone had been instructed on what to do - dive down, surround the swell and rain hell upon it. This time the fire would be much more volatile with the concentrated effort of more than double the number of dragons as the green company, plus the swell hadn't grown any larger since the encounter.

The sun caught chromatic scales as each of the dragons began to dive, catching wind towards their positions, surrounding the thing. Each and every dragon was in formation and Stephen didn't waste a single second to let loose an inferno on the monster below.

It shrieked something awful, wails and high-pitched brays breaking through the sound of crashing waves and beating wings as it began to burn under the dragon's efforts. Tentacles rose through and thrashed, flailing and spewing miasma at various riders. With so many dragons it was hard to maneuver, one of the riders was knocked backwards, but the tentacle was burnt to a husk before the rider could even recover.

"Keep going," Stephen commanded, geysers of purple ichor shooting towards them, spraying the dragons. It did nothing but smoke the armour, the smell was something most foul. As the wall of fire moved in the swell began to shrink and recede, wings flapping forwards and pushing the mass in on itself.

It was almost too late to notice when something went wrong - and it certainly went wrong. A loud howl of a dragon came quickly from one side of him and without hesitation Levi began to fill him in even as flames spewed from his mouth.

< _ Valtorr was grabbed, in trying to free him Faltine fused some of his panels together, they’re quite hot but both dragons and their riders are currently okay, _ > Levi reassured and it wasn’t until Stephen felt the ache in his hands that he realized he’d been holding the saddle fastenings harder than he should have at that. 

For a moment he’d thought Mordo was in danger. Of course, that didn’t stop the recognition that fused panels under the heat of dragonfire could prove to be an issue. The greens had been few enough in number that there hadn’t been an issue of overlapping flames with metal.

< _ Have them fall back if they need to, _ > he instructed, and Levi gave a snort at that, pulling back and turning his head briefly, his maw opened for more firestone. Stephen provided it.

< _ They refuse to fall back. They’re certain they can keep this going. _ >

Stephen kept his worries under wraps as best he could. His heart felt like it was hammering hard enough that his throat was vibrating, but he edged Levi back into place again anyway, steadily advancing on the creature.

Another pointed bellow reached him and the line began to fall apart to his left. A gaping hole showed itself in their formerly tight circle and he felt sorrow and rage in Levi as he realized what had happened. It took Stephen longer to process it.

He could see a red dragon spiralling, edging its way towards the shore, and he knew that Mordo had taken one too many hits. The rider and dragon were both alive, or he wouldn’t see either of them, but there were others missing and it was nerve-wracking to consider. He didn’t have time to consider it, either.

The line of dragons spread and shifted to cover the space that had been vacated of dragons. He didn’t know where everyone had gone and his throat felt too tight with Levi’s grief to try and ask. He felt vaguely as though he was suffocating but all he could do was try to encourage Levi onward.

An hour both dragged on and passed in a blink. As the second attack force began to slowly replace them, Stephen gave Steve the barest of nods before starting to retreat. There wasn’t much left of the creature, a total of six larger tentacles starting to gather together in the middle.

Stephen had been too focused, he knew he needed to rest mentally and emotionally. He was sweating profusely under the armour Tony had provided between the heat of dragonfire and the stress in his own body. He needed fluids, he needed rest. Levi’s throat also needed a break.

If only it could have been so easy.

As Stephen’s wing began to retreat and allow Steve’s to take their place, the tentacles that were centred struck out. The tip of Howler’s wing was grazed and caused him to falter briefly, but that wasn’t why the dragon cried out.

Levi and Howler both reacted instinctively and swiftly to attack, despite the order Stephen had already given Levi to retreat. He didn’t know why it was happening - he didn’t know what had happened. Trying to see through a flurry of wings, fire, and boiling waters seemed impossible, but there was blood and something seemed to be floating along the surface of the water. A large brown mass, crushed firmly against something else.

His eyes shot around swiftly in hopes of determining who their casualty was only to find one of the tentacles retreating into the water with Cagliostro howling and fighting firmly against being pulled under. The appendage was too quick to do anything about, gone only moments after Stephen had spotted them, and his chest felt tense and cold, his breath caught in his throat.

Under the fury of the two red dragons, with three other reds closing in and an assortment of infuriated browns closing in around them, the remaining tentacles began to wither and withdraw. Stephen was sure he gave orders at some point - he must have. The blues had retreated. The greens were gone. 

The sky was full of the wings of brown and red dragons and the others must have gone somewhere under someone’s orders. Tony’s, perhaps?

He didn’t know. The gaping hole in the ocean floor seemed to disappear between blinks and Levi circled the spot Kaecilius and Cagliostro disappeared as though they might spot a body or some other hint of them. Howler collected up the brown dragon with the help of another brown from his wing, and the agonized cries of the dragons hurt his heart like little else.

They’d won, it seemed, but no one was in any mood for a celebration.

They’d won, but they’d lost.

Stephen felt an odd sense of disassociation with the loss of Kaecilius as he was acknowledged to be MIA. The brown - Winter and his rider, Bucky - unconscious and scarred with dark purple burns beyond what was considered recoverable. The drake was breathing but swift and shallow with a portion of his ribcage crushed.

Several dead, many missing who could only be assumed dead at this point and the flight hovered over the coast and a now clear ocean.

Everyone had lost something today, but the Sanctum as a whole had won something too. Despite losing few, it felt like the loss was still much greater than the gains they'd received through their triumphs. After all, the monster in the water was gone, and hopefully for good, but that didn't discount the aftermath of the situation, that many that had lost those closest to them

A small group of drakes flew down to do recon, with the technology in their armour they were able to thoroughly pronounce that the waters were safe and the creature itself had been completely annihilated. But then that also left the question of blinking in order.

If the beast was vanquished, did that not mean that they would have their abilities to blink bestowed back upon them? And who among them would be the first to test this theory out?

One of the blues had volunteered, fed up with being out there, exhausted and fatigued. A man by the name of Renard had volunteered.

"Are you sure you want to take this risk?" Stephen communicated.

"Yeah, I just want to get back, a lot of other riders had put their lives at risk, we've lost many, at least let me do this for the flight."

Stephen nodded. "Let us know immediately when you get home. You got that Tony?" Stephen spoke the last part to him alone.

“I'm monitoring him now, both of their vitals are up on the screen, I'm watching them.”

"Yeah, I got this," the blue rider vouched as the dragon flapped anxiously in the air. Stephen nodded and with that, the blue dragon and its rider blinked, gone from them.

It wasn't long before the blue rider arrived at the Sanctum, safe and sound and there was a chorus of cheers from everyone with its success.

Stephen turned to the mass of dragon wings and announced that the rider had made it safe and sound, instructing everyone to blink back to the Sanctum. There was a chorus of cheers at the prospect of an instantaneous return as opposed to a long flight back. As the cacophony of roars died down, Stephen urged Levi forward. The bodies of the fallen collected and strapped in tight as one by one the dragons blinked and just as quickly appeared in the skies before the Sanctum.

He wanted to go to the comms room. He wanted to collect up Tony, to show him they were safe. He wanted to let Levi and his mate spend time together. He wanted to relax.

Instead, they made their way to the hospital area to make sure that the injured were taken care of as best as possible. Upon dismounting, Levi took a few steps back, seeming distinctly uncomfortable as he watched Steve and his wing bring in the injured dragon before the red gave a mournful crooning noise.

Seeing Winter up close, Stephen didn’t know how the dragon was still breathing. He wheezed and whimpered, but there was no sign of his rider. The dragon was simply too weak to blink, and the metal armour that encased him was clenched tightly around him preventing his clearly damaged ribcage from expanding.

He hated the thought of it, but the chances of the dragon surviving weren’t good. Especially when he caught the expression on Steve’s face mirrored by Sam’s.

“Bucky?” Stephen inquired of the duo softly, and the way Sam’s gaze shifted spoke volumes.

“Crushed,” Steve managed to choke out weakly. “Even if Winter pulls through it’s…”   
“... I’m so sorry for your loss,” Stephen offered, empathizing rather deeply with what was going on. He knew for Sam it was especially hard. For Steve, Howler and Winter were close… but for Sam his partner had been killed. There was nothing that empathy could do to change things.

He saw Mordo and Valtorr hobbling their way into the hospital on their own, and he felt the deep ache at the absence of Kaecilius and Cagliostro entirely, leaving him more and more anxious. He couldn’t help here. There wasn’t anything he could do for these people. This was in the hands of the doctors now.

As Sam and Howler both moved to examine Winter, Stephen climbed atop Levi’s back again and the pair took off to the comms room.

* * *

< _ Stephen and Levi are here! _ > Friday yipped happily, standing up on her hind legs and spreading her wings like a young whelpling as she pawed at the air for her mate. Words couldn't describe the absolute glee in the gold's heart as her mate and rider had returned safe and sound.

She finally fell on her forepaws, leaping up to meet Levi in the air, but not disrupting the dragon and his rider's landing. She immediately bumped noses with the red who crooned and chirred at her softly, enveloping her in his wings.

Stephen needed to gently pat the red's neck and clear his throat to get its attention to be let down. Friday soon enough backed up, only bouncing on her forepaws as Levi  _ finally _ let Stephen down off of the saddle.

Tony threw the commlink down and pushed past Rhodes. He'd met the two outside and as soon as Stephen's feet touched the ground he was immediately hugging the other, ignoring the armour that may or may not have made things either painful or awkward.

"God, I'm so glad you made it back alive, Stephen." Tony had his face immediately buried in the red rider's neck. He was well aware of what happened at the battle, but, one step at a time.

He was aware of their losses, but at this moment now he cared that Stephen was here with him, unmarked and so was Levi. Friday had already tackled Levi and sprawled over him with his wings, not even letting the dragon out of his armour first.

Stephen’s face simply buried into Tony’s neck as he dragged the helmet off his head. He was quiet as he held Tony tightly for a moment, before giving him a more pointed squeeze. “I told you we’d be careful,” he stated quietly, though the hitch in his voice told of how emotional the red rider was feeling at that moment. “Is there… do you have some water, by any chance?” he inquired quietly from his spot hidden in Tony’s shoulder.

"Peter, grab one of the water bottles," Tony had turned to yell at the comms room and the youth came rushing out with more than just one. He handed the bottle off to Tony as soon as he came out and the gold rider opened the bottle handing it off to Stephen.

"Welcome home," he smiled, though there was an air of melancholy to it.

“Thank you,” Stephen smiled sadly in return as he took the water to drink back a bit of it, and then proceeded to finish the bottle off with a sigh. Setting the bottle aside, he tucked himself back in against Tony with a sigh.

“I know I should probably be in the medical wing right now but… they’re going to have to put Winter to sleep and I… I almost wish he was well enough to just blink. I hate it when they have to… but we just don’t… we can’t make him better. If he got any better he’d just blink anyway…”

Tony squeezed Stephen, rocking him softly and tucking the rider's head in under his chin.

Stephen was home, he was everything to him; he was his world and he was here, alive and well.

"I'm glad it's not you, but it's probably better for Winter. At least he won't have to deal with the loss mentally before he finds peace." Tony shut his eyes and took a moment to appreciate the scent of the other rider. "I'm so glad you're back safely," he whispered, trying to soothe the red rider.

“And the people left behind? Howler, who loves Winter and will have to say goodbye? And Sam, who’s saying goodbye to the only thing he has left of Bucky?” Stephen sighed deeply at that. “At least now that this is all over we can have a proper ceremony and say goodbyes, but… for some people, we don’t even have bodies to recover. There… wasn’t any sign of Kaecilius at all. He and Cagliostro just… disappeared. And that thing… we still don’t know what it was, and I somehow doubt it’s dead. It may not be here anymore, and that might be sufficient, but… it feels like we’re missing so much information and so many answers….”

Tony squeezed him again and shook his head. "You guys gave it everything you could, I'm not at all happy that we lost them, it devastates me that the mission wasn't perfect but there was nothing else you could have done in your power to ensure that things went more smoothly," the gold rider sighed, softly rubbing his chin on Stephen's head.

"You're the one that assured me that none of this was within any of our power. The sacrifices made were made for the better of you, me, and everyone. This is exactly the same reason you went out there was it not?" Tony finally pulled back so he could look Stephen in the eye.

“I know it wasn’t in my power. I know we all did our best. We set a plan, we stuck to it. I’m proud of everyone… I’m just… always going to wish we could have done better,” Stephen watched him with a sad smile.

“Can you help me get out of all of this? Levi, too, I’m sure… I’m exhausted and this stuff is… it’s really warm. I feel like I’m swimming in my own sweat right now…”

"I'm going to tell you the same thing you told me when I was going through this," Tony soothed and he felt around Stephen's armour for the release hatch, sliding his fingers under the side of the armour and hitting it.

The chest piece immediately folded in on itself and dropped to the floor with a light thud. Tony gently slid his hand into Stephen's and led him over to Levi's side.

"You did everything you could, and I'm not trying to underplay what happened out there, I'm still not over what happened with the greens, but there's nothing we can do now but move forward," he rubbed the lower part of Stephen's back.

“I know,” Stephen nodded a little at that, taking a couple of deep breaths as Levi glanced over at them from his spot on his back as he allowed Friday to check him over for injuries, as useful as that was with armour still covering him. “I know there’s nothing else for it. Just… I don’t like not having a body to bury… I hate the idea of someone being declared MIA and not having any idea of what happened. I hate thinking that maybe he’s alive out there and we’ve just abandoned him, you know? And Bucky and Winter… I can’t think of many ways worse to go than being crushed like that…”

Levi turned in his spot as much as Friday would let him, and Stephen’s fingers proved themselves to have been covered in sweat by their prune-like look as he reached out to start unfastening some of the dragon’s armour. The red dragon continued to gently nudge at Friday as Stephen worked, but there was no denying the glances the red continued to cast his rider.

"If they are out there, they will find their way back, if not then it's simply what it is," Tony joined Stephen, undoing the buckles and locks on Levi's armour, buttons placed in segments of the armour to make its removal more expedient than its application.

Tony took the opposite side and released all the mechanisms holding it in place as the armour slid and toppled off of the red’s gargantuan back. Levi helped by picking up the pieces and segments that were unfastened and setting them aside until he'd been completely extracted from his armour.

Friday continued to mother-hen over him and Tony walked around to grab Stephen’s hand again. "We should head down to the medical ward," he gently squeezed.

“Must we?” Stephen inquired, taking a long pause before nodding. “... Is Friday going to ferry us, then? I think Levi’s about done with everything for the day. He deserves a little rest, at least.”

“Can I come, too?” a small voice inquired as Peter peeked at the pair of them, with Rhodey sticking his head out of the comms room as well.

“I’d like to see what the facilities you’re working with are and talk to some of the doctors about what would benefit the Sanctums, myself,” he added.

Levi gave a low grumble at all four of them, nudging Friday before stretching a bit and picking up his saddle again to rest it on his back. < _ I’ll ferry the young one and your friend down, _ > the red informed Tony, looking at the pair of riders for help doing his saddle up again.

"Thanks, red, I promise you both a night of rest after the day is over," Tony walked along the side of Levi, brushing his hand over the red's scales and attempted to ease him some. The red lowered his nose to bump Tony's chest and he wrapped his arms around the red dragon's snout in a hug.

"Yeah, I think that would be best - if not the last one of our responsibilities today, Rhodey can talk to Christine about what needs upgrading in the facility so he can get the demands ready for Howard." Tony flashed Stephen a weak smile, walking back over to him after the saddle was secured and placing a light kiss on his cheek. "Peter should also start to learn the ropes of the facility too, I know this isn't a good time but I'm sure the medical ward could use the extra set of hands," Tony sighed.

"All I want to do is lay down... let's just get through the day, I know you can do it, Stephen."

“A bath sounds good,” the red rider responded, helping Peter up onto Levi’s back and allowing Rhodey to climb up after before he glanced at the ladder that usually functioned as Tony’s way up onto Friday’s back. It didn’t take Friday or Tony long to realize what the issue was, and the gold stretched out a wing for him with a soft croon.

The relief that spread across Stephen’s face was heartfelt as he thanked the gold dragon quietly, looking to Tony with a small smile before he climbed up to seat himself on the back half of the saddle, waiting on Tony. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”

Both dragons took off towards the medical ward, floating down towards it like kites, a swift flight put them at the open bay platform where people were still buzzing around treating and loading the injured into rooms and gurneys.

Friday landed and Tony hopped off her back before the gold dragon knelt down once again with a soft bellow and Tony held his hand out to grab Stephen's arm to assist the red rider.

Peter and Rhodes hopped off Levi's back followed by the swarm of fire lizards and once everyone had been completely dismounted he led them in towards the medical bay.

A low whining could be heard echoing through the medical wing and it wasn’t hard to find the source as they entered. Howler lay with his head atop the motionless brown dragon Tony knew to be Winter, giving quiet whines as he lay there, his big red chest heaving as he mourned. Sam and Steve stood to one side discussing preparations for Winter’s burial with one of the doctors as they passed, and Stephen squeezed Tony’s hand. 

They passed solemnly, not wanting to intrude on the discussions with the doctor. That didn’t stop the doctor from looking over at them. “Tony!” he called, looking at the group hesitantly before shuffling over. “Um, sorry to interrupt, I… need to ask you a question about the armour?” The man gestured absently to the casing that was twisted and shattered around the brown dragon, leaking green blood to a small catch being used to keep it off the floor.

Tony was almost lost in a stupor, the sight and sound of Howler's cries over Winter nearly did him in. It was horrific and sad, the idea that it could have possibly happened to Friday.

The doctor frowned, addressing Tony again and Stephen squeezed his hand with a small nudge and the gold rider was back.

"Yeah, oh-" Tony shook his head and approached the dragon, a lot of the metal had been punctured into the armour but there were still areas of the plating that could come apart without the need for tools to cut through the armour itself.

"Right here, there are reinforced leather support buckles." Tony indicated to the seams on the armour. "You'll need to cut down into there and split the leather, there are also some latches over here that will immediately release, I'm not going to do anything since it looks like the armour is actually all that's holding the bleeding." Tony looked to Stephen and he received a slow nod from him.

The doctor looked quietly between Stephen and Tony for a moment before shaking his head solemnly. “Winter is… with his rider now,” Nic stated softly, “we just needed to know how best to remove it or… if it could be burned at a certain temperature. Some of the metal is wedged in under his ribcage and… well. Cremation just seems more sensible for the dragons most times, I just wasn’t certain how this material might react.”

“It definitely melts under dragonfire… but dragonfire temperatures are extremely hot…” Stephen stated softly, his voice sounding as though something was caught in his throat.

The soft whines of the red dragon fell further quiet as he observed the humans there, tucking his big head over the brown’s broken body as though to hold him closer. The sorrow in his eyes was suffocating, shades of sadness and anguish washing through him that spoke of how deeply the red dragon loved his brown companion. Tony had never really had reason to consider whether dragons had any particular romantic leanings before beyond his knowledge of how much Levi and Friday loved one another, but this spoke of how keenly dragons loved, as well.

The rest of the conversation seemed to fade away as Tony reached out to empathize with the red dragon, who nudged his hand with his nose, clearly desperate for what affection he could get in that moment, soft snuffles sounding like sobs emitting from the usually fairly reserved drake. Sad eyes closed as he leaned further into the touch, his body hovering over his companion’s corpse, clearly not ready to let go and yet knowing he had to. A hand rested on Tony’s shoulder, and when he glanced over Steve offered a melancholy smile.

“... thank you.”

It was as if the empathic ability of dragons could almost be palpable for how strong it was. When humans cried or expressed emotion, an observation was made and one would clearly read the other's emotions from expression and see how their mood was.

But when dragons expressed strong emotion, it was as if a tsunami of sentiment washed over every living being in the room, and it moved those around them like the ocean’s current.

Tony shut his eyes for a moment, resting his forehead longer against the dragon's neck, he pulled away to flash Steve a sad smile before turning around to give the red rider an embrace, squeezing him tightly, acknowledging both his and his dragon's loss. "I'm so sorry Steve, I can't imagine what you and your dragon are going through… but I can try," he rasped with a soft whisper, seemingly swept away in the dragon's emotion.

Steve wrapped his arms around him, almost unwilling to let go. Eventually Tony pulled away, a sad smile on his face as Stephen's hand on his shoulder gently tugged him over to Christine to finally address the subject they'd come for.

Rhodey and Peter had stayed quiet, Rhodey seemingly used to loss on the battlefield but Peter wide-eyed and bewildered. Over the past few days, the youth had gotten a dose of reality he probably wasn't ready for but seemed to be handling in strides.

“Is he… um… will the red dragon be okay?” Peter inquired softly as they sought out the facility’s head. “He seems really… sad about his friend.”

“They weren’t just friends, Peter,” Stephen explained softly as he curled a hand around Tony’s securely. “Dragons tend towards heterosexuality, with a very rare interest in sex outside of reproductive purposes, but they are very much biromantic, and when they choose a partner they love they tend to make that choice for life, regardless of gender. Howler, for all intents and purposes, lost his husband. Yes, he will be okay, but… he’s going to be grieving for this loss for a long while.”

“Will he… fall in love again?” the teen asked, fidgeting a little as he followed after them.

“It’s not impossible,” the red rider shook his head, “but it is unlikely.”

“That’s… so sad.”

"Come on Peter, we have work to do," Tony tugged the young adult onward with them as they had to leave Howler to his grieving. Tony flashed Steve an empathetic look before they finally made their way to Christine's office.

By the looks of things, Christine was swamped and it was also by luck that they managed to catch her in her office when they did. Stephen and Tony filed into the room followed by everyone, they quickly stood aside to introduce Rhodes. 

"Sorry to inconvenience you Christine, but this is Colonel Rhodes, he oversees the military division of Stark." Christine looked a little frazzled but as Rhodes reached a hand out she took it and shook it.

"Pleasure to meet you, Colonel, I hate to be rude - I may not be able to pay you much attention, this isn't the best time," she was rifling through some files and papers.

"Maybe we can reschedule for another time, but I'm here because Tony mentioned if Stark Industries loses the lawsuit - which they will - we were thinking upgrades for the Sanctum's medical ward could go a long way." Christine looked up at Rhodes then to Tony and the Sanctum leader nodded.

"Stark Industries has inconvenienced the Sanctum enough, and with all the evidence, you guys have a strong case." Christine looked a little confused.

"Rhodes is here to talk about demands for the medical ward. We were wondering if you might weigh in on what the Sanctum needs in terms of technological upgrades, machines, staff etc." Tony added in.

"As much as that sounds like a dream come true, and the medical ward is in dire need of upgrades - I need to oversee the current influx of dragons and human patients. I hate to do this Colonel, but could we hold this meeting off until tomorrow?"

Tony looked to Rhodes and the man nodded. "Of course, I understand right now isn't the best time. You don't need me here for that, you can send Tony your list and he can forward it to me," the two nodded to each other.

Christine grabbed a clipboard and put a hand on either man's shoulder before she bolted out the door with a smile and a silent apology.

“Can we see the people that need new friends?” Peter inquired softly, “the dragonless?”

Stephen hesitated in his spot at that, looking to Tony for a long moment. “I’ll leave that up to you. I’m sure Thor has no desire to see me at this point and… well, you have a better idea of how jarring it is to see as an outsider to the Sanctum than I do.”

“I just thought it might be helpful to see how they react to fire-lizards in general,” the teen clarified, looking between Tony and Stephen with confusion. “I mean, I know it’s not the same as imprinting but… just in case, you know?”

"Peter, I don't think they are going to react at all... These people are basically catatonic, they've lost their dragons; it's like they lost a part of themselves with those dragons," Tony put a hand on the youth's shoulder, squeezing it.

"Maybe we don't need to see all of them, and maybe Tilly would be a better option? Stephen, you visit her quite frequently," Tony nodded towards the red rider. Frankly, he wasn't in the mood to see Loki either, he hadn't visited Loki since Hela had passed away and he dreaded to see just how far the rider had descended.

It was far easier to pretend that the green rider was gone than to know Loki was here and simply not present. He couldn't bear to see the same blank look on Loki's face that the previous gold rider held.

“I’ll take him to see Tilly then if you’d like to see the Colonel off to either the guest quarters or take Levi to give him a quick ride home…?” Stephen looked questioningly at Rhodey, who shook his head a little.

“I have time. I’d still like to spend a little here and get to know more about the Sanctum and about you two… maybe we can all do dinner tonight?” Rhodey smiled a little.

“Guest quarters then?” Stephen glanced at Tony. “We can do dinner in our apartments, something nice and quiet?”

Tony nodded. "Sounds like a plan, Levi can show you around, maybe he and Friday can give Rhodes the grand tour until we are all done here," Tony smiled. "The dragons should be waiting for you at the med bay area on the platform, we've already informed them you'll be on your way."

"Alright Tones, I'll meet you at your place I guess afterwards, text me?"

"Yeah, sure thing Rhodey-bear," Tony pat the Colonel on the shoulder before nodding to Stephen and Peter and leading the way towards Tilly's room. Peter followed quietly and close behind, the miniature horde of fire-lizards flapping around him like a swarm of locusts, some landing and crawling along the ground with the queen still seated on his shoulder, half asleep around his neck.

“She’s already quite big, Peter. How long has she been pregnant?” Stephen asked idly as they continued to walk, and the teen gave a long hum of thought at that.

“About five months?”

“Really?” The red rider gave him a more curious look as he led the way, “Most dragons start laying their eggs around the seven-month mark, so I would expect she’ll be about ready to do the same soon.”

“Does that mean there’ll be more of them soon?” Peter glanced at the gold around his neck curiously, and Stephen chuckled.

“It’ll still be another little while. She’ll lay the eggs and brood over them as the shells harden before they finally hatch. I have no way of knowing what the timeline is for a fire-lizard, however,” he added, pushing the door open and allowing them into the room.

Unlike the last time Tony had been here, the room was a little darker. Tilly sat upright in bed, staring forward as she had before, looking out the great window overlooking the surrounding hills. A crocheted yellow and gold quilt lay over her lap and as before she made no motions to acknowledge them as they entered. Four of the seven fire-lizards filtered into the room ahead of them as though scouting for danger before nestling into the blanket around the tranquil woman without hesitation.

Many of them poked around and nestled under her arms and hands as if sensing some air about her while the other scuttled around and intrepidly nosed around the furniture of the room.

Tony's throat tightened at the sight - it wasn't that much better than seeing Loki the last time in tears, knowing that this would inevitably be the green rider's fate. But that's why they were doing all this, to find a cure to the dragonless and hopefully, one day recover what was never really lost, to begin with, but simply misplaced.

Peter walked in after the group filed into the room, the gold on his shoulder braying softly. 

"Hi… um, miss Tilly, I'm Peter, and these are my dragonets..." he spoke up, but there was nothing but silence in return. Peter looked between Tony and Stephen who both had slightly sombre dispositions.

"So this is what a dragonless is like, huh..." his voice grew meek as if the room itself demanded a certain silence.

“She’s not really there anymore. Not now. The bond we forge with our dragons leaves us vulnerable… we have a higher chance of surviving the death of our dragons - the dragons will end their own lives at the loss of a rider - but… living like this isn’t really living by anyone’s standards,” Stephen explained softly to the teen as he moved to the bed and adjusted Tilly’s blankets in a rather fussy way. It was familiar, the gentle gestures and movements he made that showed how much the red rider cared about the woman.

“And you really thinking maybe the fire-lizards will help…?” Peter edged towards the bed further to offer a hand as the gold gave the woman a curious look. She shuffled off and climbed down Peter’s arm to the bed as soon as he was close enough, inspecting the idle woman for a moment before chirping at Peter a bit.

The fat little gold sat on her lap, oddly attracted to her just as the other whelps had been, social, accepting and endearing in every way as they all seemed to find their own spots, littered around her hospital bed or on her lap. One of them nodding into her fingers and slinking onto her pillow while others tried to climb up onto her shoulder at which Tony found it appropriate to reach over and grab the tiny drake. It let out a squeak in protest before he set the lizard on the bed and it once again went to try and climb up Tilly's arm.

"We don't know, but we are willing to try anything, you never know," he smiled sadly. "It would be a miracle if it did work, and your fire-lizards would have homes of their own, people to take care of them," Tony offered softly, looking to Stephen with an empathetic smile.

“I’ll do what I can to help, of course,” Peter assured brightly, reaching out to pat the woman’s hand gently. “Miss Tilly? I’ll do what I can to help you, okay? Maybe soon… you’ll be feeling better.”

Stephen’s fingers threaded between Tony’s as he cuddled in against him with a soft sigh. “Maybe soon they all will be.”

It was barely a week later that the little gold dragon left everyone in a panic by disappearing. It took almost three hours to find her, cozied up on the hot sands of the hatching ground, chirping proudly at them as they arrived, her red companion cuddled up against her grumbling happily, flapping his wings for a moment to greet them.

Friday had been the first to locate her, followed by the small flock of fire lizards. She'd landed down a bit away from the little fire-lizard that peeped excitedly as the group got cautiously closer.

Peter bounded up to her, stopping moments from the gold before he knelt down and fingered at her throat affectionately.

"You guys! She's laid her eggs!" Peter looked up over to Stephen who was just dismounting from Levi and walking over with Tony through the sands. "I can't believe it, how long do you think it will be until they hatch?" he looked back to her again, the red curled up around her keeping her company.

“I’ll be able to give you a better idea in a few days when I can see how quickly the eggs are hardening,” Stephen smiled at the teen, crouching near the little gold who refused to allow him to touch the eggs yet, the red fire-lizard growling at him a bit. Stephen glanced back at Levi for a moment. “I hope you two are learning from this.”

The red drake snuffled at that, nudging up closer to his mate and grumbling happily as the rest of the fire-lizard clutch perched on the larger dragons flitting and chittering amidst each other happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting close to the end now! 
> 
> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	17. Chapter 17

Bruce knocked quietly on the door of Loki's ward. The lights were out, like always and the quiet rider slunk in, hands fidgeting a little restlessly as he spoke up.

"Hey, big guy, the guys wanted me to tell you that they're ready for you to bring Loki down." There was a small docile smile on Bruce's face as he placed a hand on the red rider's shoulder. "They're going to try out that re-imprinting with the fire-lizards, I think Tony was going to come, but I figure I'm good enough to help you carry him."

Thor didn't seem to perk up much but he nodded with a rather hollow expression.

Loki had sunken further and nearly entirely into his catatonic state, much like Tilly, his gaze was fixed forward at nothing, eyes tired and unfocused and completely unresponsive to suggestion or anything.

"And they're certain this will help my brother?"

"... Well, no, but it's worth a try. They're gathering all the dragonless and bringing them to the sands." The hulk-of-a-man placed a hand on Bruce's for a moment before he stood, sighing quietly and letting his arm drop to his side.

Like Loki, Thor's mood had since changed. It was as if with his brother, his own mirth and happiness had dissolved and the red rider was just stressed, restless and completely pensive all the time.

Bruce helped Thor get Loki into a wheelchair with ease thanks to the other rider's strength, and they brought him out to the medical bay where they rendezvoused with Stephen, Tony and Peter with all the other riders who would be ferried to the sands.

Thor locked gazes with Stephen, an unreadable expression on his face. He didn't say anything to the red leader before he broke eye contact and they loaded Loki onto the front of Mjolnir's saddle and strapped him in.

“Thor-” Stephen started, only for the big blond to shake his head.

“Don’t make me a promise you can’t keep,” Thor responded sharply, fastening himself and his brother in before Mjolnir took off towards the hatching grounds, and Stephen shuffled uncomfortably in his spot.

“Eventually he’ll have to talk to you. He’s just… you know, worried about Loki,” Bruce reassured him gently, patting his shoulder before climbing onto Hulk to follow after a couple of the dragonless riders.

It had been nearly a month since the eggs had been laid, and barely a month since Loki had lost Hela and entered his stupor. As Stephen mounted Levi behind the silent woman in yellow, bracing her against himself, he cast a brief look at Tony, sad and desperate for this to work. It had been nearly six years since Tilly had lost her own dragon along with so many others, and if this didn’t work he knew they didn’t have much hope of recovering them.

Levi took off after the blue dragon and Friday followed at a slight waddle of her own, still perfectly capable of flight, but definitely showing signs of her pregnancy.  Her legs couldn't entirely tuck in against herself and tended to dangle in flight, creating drag and slowing her down with Levi hovering just underneath her instinctively to watch her underside should anything happen.

As sombre as the others were, however, Tony had hope. Peter’s arms held tight to the saddle, looking around with barely concealed excitement and anticipation as they made their way to the hatching sands again, a place the boy had spent a good deal of time lately. 

He’d been very clear that none of the little hatchlings had hurt him, but they had expressed a great deal of hunger when they’d hatched, which had surprised Tony to hear at first. After a lot of questioning, Peter made it very clear that they had shared images in his head. There wasn’t the same telepathic connection, simply images of things they wanted to eat, and he’d had no trouble providing that.

So they came prepared, bringing bowls full of food for the little lizards that could be safely settled in the laps of the dragonless. They were still expecting at least a couple of hours before the eggs hatched, but without knowing much about the fire-lizards it was important to be prepared early just in case. Everything about their birth process so far had been faster than a dragon’s based on what Tony had been taught - and Stephen seemed to agree based on his knowledge.

The red rider had done his best to use the fire-lizards as an example to show Tony what he should expect - for instance, the little gold fire-lizard hadn’t left the sands since laying her eggs, with her red mate disappearing and returning on occasion to bring her food and water. Stephen informed him that once Friday laid her eggs it would be much the same. She would stay with them and keep them warm under her body until the time they were ready to hatch.

Unlike at Tony’s hatching, however, Friday would be present on the sands when the hatching took place. Tao had passed away before their hatching had taken place which had led to a lot of Stephen’s stress around the time of hatching. He was still starting to understand his duties, taking over for both the former red leader and the out of commission gold leader all at once, so soon before a hatching.

As the riders descended upon the sands in a wave of vibrant colours, each rider dismounted and others came to aid the relocation of the dragonless.

The conglomerate had been met with a loud excited peeping in the sand. The small gold having almost camouflaged with the golden grainy texture of the ground, the only sign of her from afar having been the small ruby scales of her mate curled around her. 

The barking could be heard as soft hawk-like screeching as the group gathered around the queen who was pleased as pie for the company, but when approached by anyone but Peter, seemed to swing towards the temperament of an angry house cat when pet the wrong way.

With the riders, bushels of fish were unloaded, anchovies, minnows, smaller fish of varying breeds in coolers which were dispersed evenly in a circle, and near those riders sat Loki, Tilly and all the others who were participating in the hatching.

Each person here carried with them the hope that this plan of Tony's would work. So many similarities had matched up, although no promises would be made that couldn't stop them from having faith. Blankets were laid down on the sands to make the dragonless comfortable so they wouldn't burn themselves.

Friday took a seat in the sands behind them all to observe, the hot sands nice on her stomach, burying her paws into the dunes and flaring her crest attentively. She let out a chirp as her stoic red joined her, curling around her and swaying his tail idly as they watched. 

Hulk and Mjolnir sat shoulder-to-shoulder behind Loki where Bruce and Thor supported the raven-haired man. It would be some hours worth of babysitting in the hot sands, but in the end they had hope.

Tony went to lengths to make sure Tilly was ready, both he and Stephen supporting her, even such as the normal hatching, medical staff were present on the sidelines ready to rush in for whatever reasons if necessary.

"If this doesn't work, I don't know what I'll do," Tony mumbled just loud enough for Stephen to hear, and his blue eyes were on him, a welcoming cool contrast to the bright sands around them, a soft comfort as he heated from anxiety. The pair spared a glance in Loki’s direction, before returning to one another.

"We'll see Tony, but no one could ever blame you for trying something new. The Sanctum's seen the most shakeups it has in this decade alone, and through it all you’ve prevailed," Stephen spoke quietly, lifting an arm to hang loosely around the rider's shoulder. Tony sidled in close, audibly letting out a deep breath as everyone sat positioned in their circle around the gold and her mate - the star of the show who peeped happily at the attention.

Peter took a seat next to Tilly, fussing with her clothing and talking to her, making sure she was comfortable. He knew she wouldn't respond, but it was in his social nature to chatter anyways. All of his whelps having littered themselves across the sands either resting, sunbathing or poking around.

“We shouldn’t have too many people on the sands when the hatching starts,” Stephen sighed. “Seventeen eggs is enough for everyone here if somehow the majority of them hatch and none of them imprint on others, but the more humans there are on the sands the higher the likelihood that they’ll imprint on someone who isn’t dragonless,” he stated clearly, though it was mostly directed at Tony. 

“That’s why we keep the medical staff up in the stands during hatchings as well. Given that Peter was able to imprint on an entire clutch, I doubt there’s going to be any issues with them choosing to imprint on riders as well… so that will be worth keeping in mind.”

Bruce looked at Stephen briefly at that, then looked to Thor and gave the man a hug, stating something quiet before pressing a soft kiss to his forehead and getting to his feet. “Then I guess us extras should get out of here,” he smiled warmly.

The numbers in the sands slowly lessened, until there were an equal number of dragonless to riders, plus Peter and Stephen, who still seemed hesitant to be there. Peter gave MJ a little scratch under the chin and looked up suddenly to the remaining people. “I think it’s starting,” he announced, scurrying away from the eggs and towards the stands where others were waiting.

Stephen pressed a soft kiss to the top of Tony’s head. “Take care of Tilly for me, hm?” he chuckled lightly as he started to follow after Peter at a much more leisurely pace.

The first of the eggs rocked and fell over before cracking and allowing an awkward-looking little bronze creature out. It flailed in the deep sands - meant for dragon hatchlings, not baby fire-lizards - for a couple of moments, tumbling around before finding his way to one of the bowls of fish in the lap of one of the dragonless. Once it was sufficiently full, it scurried up into the lap of the man in question and simply settled there with a cute yawn.

It was minutes before another egg hatched, by which point the brunette dragonless had turned his head to give the little bronze fire-lizard in his lap a curious look. He hadn’t moved more than his head, but the acknowledgement from the dragonless gave Tony some hope. The green that hatched next gave a quiet squawk as it wobbled through the sands, sounding pitiful for a moment before she found a dragonless of her own, settling in the man’s lap to eat her fill from the bowl with more grace than the bronze fire-lizard had.

One by one just like the hatching when Tony arrived, the eggs began to rock and cascade one after another, a green, blue and a red all tumbled out of their eggs and down one of the dunes towards Loki, surprisingly, all three of them heading towards him, enough to turn some heads as those who seemed to be completely lost made more movements now than they had since their unfortunate upheaval.

Two more dragons headed towards Tilly, going for the fish in her lap, surprisingly a gold and a bronze as well before settling with her and one by one - and by some miracle, most of the dragonless had found a new whelp.

Tony smiled as the little hatchlings found their way, almost like turtles in the sand, crawling to the water. With one egg left he wondered who it would imprint on, and as it cracked open a little red drake scurried out with bright blue eyes, curious about the world.

It scuttled up towards Tilly flicking its tongue, but it didn't stop there. It crawled up Tony's arm and looked up at him with crystalline eyes and Tony knew exactly what that look was. He remembered that same look in Friday's eyes when she'd first hatched and slowly reached to grab a handful of small fish to offer to the miniature drake. 

In his mind, images flashed and a deep empathic connection now formed between the two and it was like his very first day all over again. The adoration he had for the new young, the love, the overprotectiveness he harboured for the youngling. All so familiar to him.

It immediately scarfed down the lot and then went for more, one of more voracious of the clutch as it continued to feed from the open cooler of iced fish before finally crawling over to Tony's feet looking up at him with wide eyes. It mewled softly and he leaned down to pick the youngling up, cradling it in his arm.

"Not entirely unexpected, but still surprising," he murmured, running his fingers over the fire-lizard’s tender and unhardened scales.

Of all that had lost themselves, Loki had shown the most responsiveness, in his lap, three beautiful charming proto-dragons and he looked down curiously at them before a hand reached down to run along the crest of one of the baby greens and then along with the others. His lap was a swirl of bright scales as they all curled up and in confusion, the raven-haired man looked up, though still not finding his voice.

Decades of hopeless drawling, and finally with this first step, there was a sign that things were on the right track. It wasn't a leap, but it was a step in the right direction. Tony assumed with time and exposure those who were lost would soon find themselves again, and he had hope in his heart, excited that they were on the breakthrough of something so great.

The little ruby fire-lizard brayed softly in his arms and Tony gently prodded his stomach. "I don't know if you have a name, but I’ll call you Jarvis until you have one." The young one chirped softly before closing its eyes.

The chatting began almost immediately after the eggs had hatched. All around him people began to try and speak with their formerly unresponsive friends and family members, with many of those who had been in that state for a long time doing little more than following people with their eyes, showing awareness, at least, that hadn’t been there for a long time. Those who had more recently become dragonless had more responsiveness, with Thor carefully hugging Loki against his chest and the raven-haired man resting his head on the man’s shoulder, his hands moving some to try and resettle the little dragonets around him.

None of them spoke, and even as the people who had been in the stands made their way to the sands again it was clear that no one was immediately perfect. It was going to take time, none of them were speaking, yet, and when Stephen reached Tony and Tilly he gave a small, tearful smile as he knelt in the sands, not seeming to care about the heat of them scalding his skin as he gently reached out a hand to touch Tilly’s.

“Hey there,” he greeted softly, and the woman looked up at him, offering a small smile of recognition. “Wow, we have… a lot to catch up on.” His eyes lifted from the bald woman to smile at Tony, giving the little red critter on his shoulders a tiny grin. “And I guess you finally got your red, huh?”

Jarvis made a small snuffling noise as Stephen reached out to the red, and the fire-lizard nipped at his finger, grumbling when he realized it was not, in fact, food.

A proud Peter made his way over to the red and gold fire-lizards in the sand, collecting them up and praising them happily as he looked around, watching the progressively more attentive individuals either watching or interacting with their small dragons. Circling around Tilly, Stephen pressed a gentle kiss to the corner of Tony’s lips, resting his forehead against Tony’s cheek and ignoring the red butting against his head as he did.

“... you’re my favourite, you know that? Don’t tell anyone,” Stephen teased quietly. “I didn’t… know if this would work. I wanted to trust you but I didn’t want to be too hopeful… and here we are.”

"If it's any consolation, I didn't know either - but I'm glad it did. I had my faith, but faith is blind at times, and it's anyone's game," Tony smiled wide, wrapping Stephen in a hug, riding the high off of having a newborn. The young one brayed loudly at him before settling around Tony's neck like a scarf and closing its eyes once more.

"This is a big step for all of us. I can only imagine they will improve over time, I have my hopes," Tony mentioned sheepishly, pressing kiss after kiss gently on Stephen's neck.

Friday yipped happily, filled with her rider's warmth and adulation which in turn extended to the red drake beside her. 

This was a win, a huge win for the Sanctum and groundbreaking discovery. Now they had a cure for what once was incurable, not to mention they had fire-lizards to study. An almost archaic revival of what was considered lost.

Tony turned to Stephen, muttering quietly. "If this works out, I think you and I would make history for this… Not gonna lie," he chuckled softly under his breath.

“I’m pretty sure the history being made would be made by you, my love,” Stephen stated quietly, cuddling against Tony some and casting a fond look towards where Loki seemed to be playing with his own trio with his fingers. The expression on his face was one of wonder and delight, stroking the little green dragon with misty eyes as he played with the other two with his other hand.

He didn’t speak a word as Thor started to try and gather him up to remove him from the sands, intent on bringing him - and the fire-lizards - somewhere more comfortable. The big blonde didn’t say anything, but he looked towards Tony and Stephen and offered a small, grateful nod to them as Bruce helped Loki and his dragonets onto Mjolnir’s back.

“He might have the right idea. We should get them somewhere more comfortable… it’ll be a little bit until they can all walk properly and the like, I’m sure, and the fire-lizards show no comfort with the idea of flying yet. I imagine they’ll take a little time before they’re ready to do that, themselves,” Stephen suggested, looking to Tilly and watching her simply look down at the pair of lizards in her lap.

"We can get her back to the ward and from there she will have further help to care for the fire-lizards despite her situation. I imagine over time she would need assistance and will grow not to rely on them.”

Tony gently squeezed Stephen before pulling back. "Let’s get her back to the hospital ward, I have a good feeling that her health will improve from here on," he smiled and helped Stephen load her back onto Levi's saddle. The dragon bellowed softly as Tony helped Tilly into the saddle in front of Stephen. Peter hopped on behind Stephen and they returned to the medical ward in minutes.

Tilly was helped into a wheelchair with her sleepy whelps and carted to her room. There was a new air about her, something different neither rider could put their finger on, but something was definitely up.

"We can come by to help care or the hospital staff can make sure she's taken care of. The response is good and if it keeps on this way I imagine she will be back to her normal self in less than a month." Tony smiled at Stephen, holding his hands in his own.

Squeezing Tony’s hand as much as he could, he rose to his feet to gather attention. “Well! This seems to have worked in some manner. Let’s make sure everyone gets back to the medical wing and has a proper check-up before we start reorganizing. I’ll discuss living arrangements with Christine before we settle who moves in where. Congratulations, everyone. And to those of you who are with us again… we missed you. Welcome back.”

Levi gave a happy chirp at that, and the dragons echoed it quietly in the cavern. As their cheers subsided, the little coos and yips of the fire-lizards could be heard as they sang - and there was no other word for it. It sounded as though the small beasts were singing some kind of song that they knew innately, many of them looking to their humans as they sang their sweet, chirping little melody.

The little ruby-scaled whelp on Tony's shoulder joined in on the chorus of melodies as they continued to serenade those around them with their gentle song. It was unlike anything Tony had heard before, surely Friday or Levi hadn't ever done something like this and it was a very new experience.

As they reached the hospital ward once more, Tony leaned into Stephen, an arm going around the other's waist as he gently scratched Jarvis' chin with his finger. They wheeled Tilly down the hall with her fire-lizards, the old leader seemingly occupied with her own little whelps as the two men escorted her back to her room in the ward.

“I still can’t believe this worked, you know?” Stephen stated softly, watching the older woman in her seat. “Is that… is that wrong of me to say? I was so scared I was getting my hopes up. I was so scared I had it all wrong, and I hated that I didn’t trust in you. I wanted to trust you, I wanted to believe everything would be alright, but I wasn’t sure. And here we are, you were right…” Stephen sighed, encouraging others to join the lineup to see the various doctors in the medical ward.

“This means… maybe one day… you can meet Tilly properly. As I knew her. You can have a former gold-rider in the Sanctum again and… she can teach you so much, Tony. She knows so much and the things she can tell you…” the red rider shook his head and offered Tony a warm smile. “She knows more than I could’ve ever shown you.”

Tony returned the smile pulling Stephen close. "It's not like I had much faith in my own plans either, I doubted myself, this was all on the hopes and whims of an idea - and thank god that idea came through because I honestly don't know what I would have done had it not.”

The gold dragon rider let out a heavy sigh and pulled Stephen fully into his arms, squeezing him. "It's hard to put your faith in something that you have no idea about, I mean… I would have doubted it just as much," he laughed softly, taking in the other man's scent.

"This is a massive step for all of us, it means we won't ever again truly lose anyone after this, there's always a way for us to recover them, a north star to guide them home."

“We should wait until we see what the long-term results of this are before we make that kind of declaration, assuming everyone recovers from all of this over time. I don’t want to get ahead of myself and assume this will mean a full recovery… But I’m still hopeful. You’ve given a lot of people hope,” Stephen smiled warmly at his partner, putting the breaks on the wheelchair before wrapping his arms tightly around Tony. “You’ve given me hope. You’ve done so much for this Sanctum… it’s hard to imagine where we’d be without you. Friday knew what she was doing when she chose you…”

“Can't say I really knew what I was doing when I started but this is everything I ever hoped to do for everyone. The Sanctum is everything I ever dreamed of, being a dragon rider is a dream come true, I never expected it to ever take me anywhere further than where it has now, not even being in charge of the Sanctum itself. Sometimes I still can't even fathom it," Tony mumbled softly, he was running on his words, not sure what else to say.

"I wouldn't trade any of this for the world. I found a new life here, a new family," he smiled into Stephen.

“Still think you might be okay keeping me?” Stephen inquired with a warm smile of his own. “I mean, now you have a red of your own. You don’t need me for Levi…” he added, watching briefly as Nic wheeled Tilly off to do a quick examination. “You could have anyone in the Sanctum if you wanted. You sure you want me, of all people? You could probably find someone easier to get along with…”

His arms remained tightly wrapped around Tony as he spoke, pressing a few soft kisses to his neck and jaw. “Look at you… anyone here would be lucky to have you, and that doesn’t even count your brilliance.”

"Well if we are specifically talking in terms of reds and dragons, as much as I do have a red of my own I don't think I would be able to find one that Friday approves of," Tony smiled, tilting his head as he regarded Stephen.

"But if we are talking about annoying and hot looking Sanctum leaders, I don't think I could really find someone else quite as annoying and infuriating as you," Tony swayed a bit playfully.

“Good, all I ever wanted in the world was to drive you absolutely crazy,” Stephen laughed a bit, holding Tony a little closer and humming softly. “Are you sure that’ll be sufficient? I’m not asking you to be mine and only mine… if you need more than I can give you, Tony… I’ll understand. I never want to let you go, but I might be convinced to share if I’m in any way neglecting your needs…”

"I didn't grow up in the Sanctum so I can't say I'm too familiar with the concept of sharing within the Sanctum culture, I guess I really don't know what I'm missing out on. I've only got eyes for you, and unless you want me to be looking elsewhere, I'm afraid that won't happen even still," Tony wiggled his brows playfully. "I'm a simple man Stephen - well, mostly. Call me possessive but I don't think even Loki could satisfy me or scratch the itch I'm looking for that you, in fact, do." Tony ran his fingers through Stephen's beard, scratching the bottom of his chin affectionately.

Stephen’s smile was warm and soft all at once as he leaned to kiss Tony briefly. “You do have ways of making me feel special, don’t you? Just me? Only me? Are you sure?” There was a hitch in Stephen’s voice, a hint of uncertainty as he spoke, watching Tony carefully. 

“I’m no one’s first choice for a reason, you know… is that the one thing you happen to be imperfect in? Bad taste in men or what?” There was a hint of teasing, but Stephen was definitely concealing uncertainty under that. A nervous air wrapped around the man and it seemed like he was fidgeting and trying to figure something out, hesitating to make any moves on that front.

Tony almost seemed confused by Stephen's pressing on the subject, but it didn't take long for him to clue in. He shifted the fire-lizard into his less dominant arm so the welp wouldn't be crushed with the hug.

"Well for one, you're handsome, I love those dignified little silver streaks in your hair," Tony started with a coy smile, running his fingers through them softly, "looking up into those beautiful eyes of yours," his smile widened. "Your hands," he took one of them in his own, smoothing a thumb over the top of the scar and bringing it to his lips for a kiss. He leaned up towards Stephen's ears on his tippy-toes, "Also the way you cry out my name when I have you underneath me," he chuckled softly as Stephen didn't seem to expect the mouthiness in this environment.

Stephen's face lit up as he gave a quick peek around, as though checking if anyone had heard. With his check apparently passing muster, he snuck one of his hands away from Tony's and reached into a pocket to grab something, taking Tony's hand to gently place it there. It was small - barely larger than his palm - and not boxed or round, but there was clearly a small but sturdy gold chain running through whatever it was.

As Stephen's hand moved away a hint of metallic red showed itself and Tony unfurled his fingers to find a heart-shaped red scale with a chain looped through it there. The red rider shuffled in his spot for a moment, taking a couple of deep breaths. "It's... It's not a proposal, or anything like that just... A promise. There's little quite as important to me as Levi is... But you and Friday come very close. And maybe one day we'll have taken the time to sort out a more permanent promise but for now... I want you to have something to remind you when I'm away that I love you, and I'm thinking about you."

Tony turned the scale in his hand, head tilting as the light caught it from different angles showing blemishes of different opalescent colours that shone on the surface of the ruby scale. He was stunned, he didn't know what to think of any of this since just a moment again he'd merely been playing with Stephen, feeling like he needed to reassure an anxious episode. 

There was a silence between them and Tony would have let it draw out further if he wasn't worried about Stephen taking his response the wrong way. His fingers curled around the scale and he gently cradled it against his chest with both hands, while managing to juggle Jarvis into his arm. He leaned into Stephen, pressing his forehead to the taller man's collarbone.

"This is-" he started, caught in his words. Taking it and admiring it further before deliberately slipping the chain around his neck and fingering the scale. "Beautiful, thank you, I don't even know what to say, honestly..." He looked up at Stephen with the softest smile, hand on the back of the red rider's neck and pulling once again back in for a full-mouthed kiss.

Unfortunately Tony wasn't careful enough not to disturb the sleepy fire-lizard and he brayed with annoyance, climbing up onto the gold rider's shoulder and chittering at him.

With Tony's other hand free he wrapped it around Stephen's waist and crushed their bodies together.

Stephen held him tightly, his form relaxing in Tony's hold, though his kiss became a stifled laugh as the red lizard continued to give them a heckling. He gave up soon after, resting his forehead against Tony's as he tried not to laugh too loudly at the feisty fire-lizard. "You don't have to say anything. There's nothing to say. I love you. Levi does, too. And now we can both stay close to your heart."

His fingers curled into the back of Tony's robes as he smiled adoringly at Tony, eyes bright as he watched him before Nic quietly cleared his throat beside them.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Tilly is in good condition. We'll have people helping her to get walking again, but one of the main concerns with the dragonless right now is their lack of speech. There's a possibility of brain damage from the separation - it's hard to say. Some of the equipment that we're supposedly being sent later this month should help us with further brain scans of our recovering dragonless..."

Tony didn't like the idea of hearing brain damage, and he hoped deep down that simply wasn't the case. Given that the dragonless were even moving and responding was a good enough sign but one couldn't know for sure.

Tony reached up and scratched Jarvis on the chin before leaning up and stealing one more kiss away from Stephen. He didn't care that Nic was there. 

"I love you too," he whispered softly, so that little admission hadn't gone unreciprocated and gently took Stephen's hand, the heavy-set whelp on his shoulder still chittering some.

* * *

With the amount of work they had to do dealing with the Sanctum, the lawyers, and Friday eventually ending up brooding, with a fussy mate worrying over her constantly, there seemed to be too few times they were able to spend in any kind of peace over the last several months.

Today, however, was a good day. A quiet day, as rare as those were.

Tony had spent hours earlier searching for Jarvis only to have Levi alert him that the chubby little fire-lizard had taken up residence amidst Friday’s frills, and was currently soothing and singing to her. The red dragon was a tiny bit miffed, but a paternal part of him had reared its head strongly once again around the time Friday had laid her eggs in the sands, and it was sweet to see him in such a state again. 

That did, of course, make it more challenging to get around the Sanctum. With Levi preoccupied with caring for his brooding mate, and Friday herself brooding, neither of the leaders had a readily accessible dragon to help them get anywhere. Steve had been helpful to a point, but both leaders felt odd about taking advantage of his generosity too much - as such, the rest of the Sanctum helped them pull through. Stephen and Thor had begun to make amends, and this was one such day where their little arrangement worked out. Tony and Stephen were planning to see Loki, and Mjolnir would ferry them down to the steadily improving hospital wing, and he and Thor would give them some space.

This was a special day, however, because beyond them simply asking to visit Loki, Thor had specifically invited them to come see him without expressing why. Only that it was important.

And so Mjolnir had left them there at the entrance of the medical bay, near where the recovering dragonless were being housed. Thor greeted them with a warm smile as he gestured them closer.

“My friends! Good morning!” Stephen cast Tony a brief look of confusion at the man’s greeting, considering the red leader was fairly certain that he hadn’t been forgiven by Thor yet. Not enough to be referred to as a ‘friend’ in any case.

“Good morning, Thor,” Stephen offered in return, giving Tony’s hand a gentle squeeze.

Tony had returned the reassuring gesture and spoke up next.

"You seem in high spirits today, Thor," Tony flashed a smile, confused but he was happy that the usually moody red rider was happy as well. Thor gestured for Tony and Stephen to follow down the hospital wing towards Loki's ward. Thor pushed the door open and Bruce looked up from his seat, going over some papers with a familiar voice in the room as well. Tony didn't know what he was hearing, almost for a moment thinking it too good to be true but as the trio entered the hospital ward the ex-green rider's face seemed to light up as they walked in.

Loki was sitting, feet hanging off the side of the bed with his young whelps running around, he raised a hand and greeted them.

"Tony, Stephen, how nice of the two of you to come by, it's been some time!" There was an impishness to his tone, that old inflection that Tony had for so long missed hearing when the rider seemed lost to his fallen drake.

"Loki, are you-" Tony furrowed his brows. Up until this point, from the last he'd seen Loki the man had only exhibited signs of some recognition, now it was almost as if he was back to his old self, maybe not the same but it was something else to see their friend back to normal, almost back from the dead even.

Tony let go of Stephen's hand, flying past the door to take the raven-haired man in his arms, earning him a chorus of indignant chitters and squawks from the fire-lizards in his lap that he'd been mindful not to injure in the process.

"Oh god, you're really back to normal," Tony struggled to find the words, and Thor simply sat back with a broad smile on his face.

“Normal? Normal is relative,” Loki hummed at that but didn’t stop himself from curling his arms around Tony to hold him in place. “I’m not entirely sure I was normal, to begin with, but even for me, I’m not sure I feel normal now. Something’s… wrong. Something that won’t ever be right again. I know that. I can’t… she’ll never come back.” His fingers curled more firmly into Tony’s back for a moment, before Loki gave a little sigh and let him go, offering a slightly sad smile.

“But… I should introduce my children, shouldn’t I?” he waved Stephen over and the red rider hesitated briefly before Thor shooed him in. Stephen approached the bed, taking up a seat beside it even as Loki gave him an odd look at that, clearly put out by the lack of hug. He swiftly redirected his attention. “This is Vali,” he introduced the green creature that was making an effort to climb his hair, “Sleipnir,” he gestured to the blue, “and Fenrir…”

The red in question was flitting his wings and inspecting Tony curiously, flapping away from him to inspect Stephen after as though protecting his human and siblings. He gave a little chirp of greeting before going to perch himself proudly on Loki’s shoulder.

"Well, normal as normal can be, it's kind of been a rollercoaster here with everything going on, but we never thought we'd get you back ever," Tony sighed, giving Loki another hefty squeeze before pulling back and diverting his attention to the little dragonets that proudly flitted around the room and played.

"The fire-lizards… we went out on a whim with these little guys," Stephen quietly laid a shaking hand on Tony's shoulder as the gold leader spoke. "But by some miracle, it all worked out, it was hard for everyone when we thought we'd lost you Loki," Tony's voice got a little quieter as he smiled sadly at the man.

"Now that's not very decent of a Sanctum leader," Loki joked softly, pulling away to slide his hands down the other man's arms. "Well I'm back now, and here aren't I?" Loki looked to Thor and the red rider was standing in the corner smiling over at them, staying silent.

“Did you want a few minutes alone with them?” Thor inquired after a moment of waiting, and Loki tilted his head at his brother for a moment before Thor rolled his eyes and nodded. “Well, scream if you need anything.”

As the blond exited Loki reached to tug at Stephen. “I deserve a hug, right? Come on. I’ve been through a lot. Hugs are great…”

The red rider only hesitated briefly before gently wrapping his arms around Loki, leaving the raven-haired man to scoff. “I’m not breakable or contagious. Come now, Stephen, don’t I deserve a real hug?”

Stephen offered Tony a dramatic rolling of the eyes of his own as he wrapped his arms tighter around Loki and pulled him close. “... I missed you. I’m glad to see you’re doing better.”

“So, if I’m feeling better because of these cuties then…?”

“You’re the first to show signs of speech. Though I wish I was surprised that you’d been the one who got everything in order first. You always were mouthy…”

“Hey! Is that any way to treat someone who’s hospitalized?”

Tony snickered to himself from the sidelines at Stephen's very characteristically stiff persona towards Loki. He took a step forward, pushing Stephen into Loki and wrapping his arms around the man from behind with a smirk encircling the both of them.

"How is this, any better?" 

The raven-haired man preened under the attention. "Much," he added and squeezed Stephen rather roughly letting out a pleased sigh.

"I think Loki is enjoying this too much," Stephen muttered.

"You have no idea, Stephen. I can't remember the last time you showed me anything other than a cold shoulder," he added.

"Tell me about it!" Tony added with a soft laugh and that earned a glare from Stephen as he turned his head to look at Tony who used the opportunity to sneak a kiss on the man's lips, "kidding, love."

“You two seem to be getting along nicely,” Loki smiled wryly at them as he watched, resting his chin on Stephen’s shoulder. “I’m glad you worked things out. The pining was honestly becoming unbearable.”

“I wasn’t-”

“You were absolutely pining. Both of you were. Now, look at the two of you. Adorable,” he added teasingly as he relinquished the pair and sat back on his bed, his fire-lizards arranging themselves around him with happy chirps.

Stephen simply leaned back into Tony, giving the pair a slightly embarrassed but clearly pleased little smile.

Tony still kept his arms around Stephen, hugging him from behind and standing on his tip-toes to rest his chin comfortably over the back of Stephen's shoulder.

"How have the little one's company been for you? I know as soon as Jarvis was old enough he started to spend more time with Friday than with me and Levi is not terribly thrilled about that," Tony spoke awkwardly over the taller rider's shoulder. Stephen lightly placed his arms over Tony's, palms on the tops of his hands as well.

"It also seems to be in her current state the young lizard is all Friday can stand for extended periods of time," Stephen added softly. "I'm sure Levi and Friday would be happy to see you again, Loki.”

“I’m not… sure I’m ready,” Loki responded, suddenly quite quiet himself. “It’s been fine here, I can’t… see the other dragons here but… I’m not sure I’m ready for…” he trailed off, his eyes misting a bit as he curled a hand gently around Vali. “... I keep dreaming of her. I keep remembering her screaming… for all the things I’ve accomplished, I can’t make those nightmares go away. I can’t stop remembering the pain she was in, or the way she kept crying for me… she thought I was still in danger, she was so scared, she just wanted to help me…”

Tears trailed down the raven-haired man’s face as his little lizards cooed gently at him, nestling close and nudging against his face and arms in an attempt to soothe the distress they clearly felt. Stephen was silent as he watched, his hands curling more firmly around Tony’s arms before he closed his eyes. 

“I’m so sorry, Loki… Listen you take all the time you need," Tony soothed with a hand lightly combing through the raven-haired man's scalp. "I just figured you would have found the hospital a little stifling, some patients don't appreciate being around it," he added, sitting down on the bed to help Stephen out a bit.

"I can't imagine what it was like, I can't even begin to fathom. It's not something I would ever want to either, it was awful what happened. But know she did everything she could for you, and whatever sacrifice wasn't made in vain. I can picture at least two dragons that want to see you again after all this, happy to know you're starting to get back to your old self," the brunette smiled.

Loki looked like he was going to say something before he closed his mouth and gave a simple nod. A hand came up to scrub at his face and the mask of contentment slipped onto his face easily, but they’d already seen what was beneath. “Call me an oddity, but I like hospital food. You know. That rice pudding? Fantastic. Couldn’t hope for better,” he chimed, focusing his attention on the trio that had decided to curl up in his lap together, tails and heads overlapping, with Fenrir’s wings blanketing his smaller siblings.

“Thank you guys for coming. It means a lot. I’m sure I’ll be out of here in no time. I guess my things will have to be moved from my old room, though. Not somewhere I’ll be able to access easily again, so I’ll have to adjust to walking everywhere. What a nuisance.”

Tony looked to Stephen with a cocked head, his arm still around Loki.

"The lot of us are technically dragonless right now, Friday is brooding and Levi is watching over her. Between dealing with Friday's demands, food and us he's not been as accessible and we've all had to lean on either Bruce, Thor or Steve for transportation," Tony let out a soft laugh.

"We've got Peter in the old apartment with May, but you're welcome to stay with us until Friday lays her eggs. Transportation won't be as hard and we can figure out what to do with you until then," Tony looked to Stephen thoughtfully. "Jarvis would have some dragons his own age and size to hang around and Levi would appreciate that immensely."

Stephen gave a small nod of agreement before Loki shook his head and gave a smirk. “Nah, you two are finally getting along, don’t need my help messing that up.” He stretched in a clearly exaggerated manner before resting his back against the headboard of the bed. “Besides, after having been sorta immobile for a while the walking will do me good. Eventually, I’ll have to move and I might as well get used to being a part of the non-dragon population of the Sanctum, right?”

“Loki…” the red rider started, but the look the taller man gave him stopped him from continuing.

“It’s either that or trying to figure out how the world outside the Sanctum works and doing that with these little ones. It’s better that they’re around here, right? I’ll get used to being around the dragons again with some time, I’m sure. We’re not gonna have some Loki pity-party here, alright? I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine.”

"Would you do it if we said we wanted your company?" Tony smiled softly giving him another squeeze to emphasize. Tony's eyes flicked to Stephen as if seeking some sort of answer from him. "It would honestly make us feel better if, put our minds at ease if we knew you were safe and integrating with well," he trailed off softly.

"You mean a lot to us, more than you know Loki..." Stephen echoed quietly. He joined the two men on the opposite side of the bed.

There was a drawn-out silence as the green rider seemed to think over the offer a little further though at the same time seemingly struggling with his own internal turmoil.

“The offer is… generous…” Loki started, continuing to stare at the critters in his lap, “I appreciate it. But I’m… I honestly don’t think I can be around you two being lovey-dovey right now,” his hands curled into the blankets as he looked up and offered Tony a sad smile. “I feel like I’ve just lost the love of my life. My heart already hurts. The idea of sitting around watching you two being cute and sweet is… kinda hard to stomach right now. I’m really glad you two are getting on well, but…” his expression fell further as he shook his head.

“Loki,” Stephen’s hand reached to settle on Loki’s and the other turned his hand to wrap around Stephen’s. “We do care about you. We were… really worried about you. Whatever is best for you we’re happy to help but…”

"We're not going to try and force any of this upon you, all I want you to know is that we're here for you. If you should change your mind then please don't hesitate to let either of us know." Tony gave Loki a look of uncertainty before he nodded and gave another squeeze to his shoulder before pulling away and looking to Loki with a sad smile.

Tony stood up, reading the situation as it was and headed for the door, he waited for Stephen with arms hugging himself, the small fire-lizards peeping and chirping loudly as he moved away.

“Thank you both for visiting. It really… means a lot to me,” Loki called as Stephen reached Tony, wrapping a hand around his partner’s and giving Loki a small smile.

“It’s good to see you more animated again, Loki… We’ll visit again soon, okay?”

“See you two soon, then,” Loki nodded, and Stephen led Tony out of the room, sending Thor skittering in after they’d cleared. The door closed and they couldn’t hear what he said, but his booming voice seemed to vibrate through the halls anyway as he addressed his brother excitedly.

“... I should’ve been more considerate of that idea. He loves you, you know,” the red rider murmured quietly as he led Tony through the halls towards where he knew Mjolnir would be waiting for them. “He threatened me, what feels like forever ago… that if I didn’t step up and make things work out… someone else would snap you up. And I believed him. Anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Stephen’s hand squeezed Tony’s gently as he looked to his partner with a sad smile. “I can understand why it would be hard for him to see you with someone else.”

Tony turned around and took both of Stephen's hands in his own, lightly squeezing them as he stood in front of the red rider. "I got that, I always had feelings for you first, and that was the only thing stopping me at the time," Tony stated softly. "What if-" he started looking up at Stephen who seemed to tilt his head.

"You mentioned, I mean..." he bit his lip, almost unsure of everything. "You guys used to be a thing, and we were almost a thing..." Tony started again but given his background, the idea he had in mind seemed entirely unreasonable to propose, without considering the Sanctum born culture.

He squeezed Stephen's hands a little tighter as he looked down at them.

"He's going through a hard time, and I don't doubt he's dealing with not just the loss of Hela," Tony chewed on his thoughts.

Stephen lifted Tony’s hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of each one. “We have time to talk about this, to get used to the idea if you’re considering what I think you are. He won’t accept anything like that now. Not while he’s hurting like this. He’ll be afraid it’s pity rather than affection. Give him a little time, give us a little time, let’s figure it out and make sure we’re both on the same page… we can discuss it further then?”

Tony nodded, melting when Stephen's lips brushed against his skin softly.

It was true: he was uncertain, he was nervous, he'd never considered anything like this before, it wasn't commonplace as far as outside of the Sanctum went.

But he wanted to do something for Loki, he loved Loki in no way he could certainly define at the moment and by the sound of it, he and Stephen were also on the same page. Stephen was right, things like this did take time, this was a big step he was proposing and they needed to talk it out first, as well, give Loki space.

"Of course, we have all the time in the world," Tony soothed softly, leaning up and kissing Stephen on the lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	18. Chapter 18

“What if someone else catches Friday?”

The room was quiet as Stephen watched Tony carefully across the breakfast table. “Naturally Loki isn’t an option here, and if Levi doesn’t catch her, for whatever reason, then what?”

“The eggs haven’t even hatched, you’re talking about years from now-”

“Yes, I am. But what if Levi doesn’t catch Friday? We’ve been talking about this Loki situation for a while, but there are other things to consider, too. Someone else catching Friday means that in all likelihood you and I will both end up in beds with someone else. It won’t change how much I love you and I trust that it won’t change how much you love me. Similarly… I doubt it will change how either of us feels about Loki. It’s all connected, too… this is why the Sanctum has created a culture that doesn’t necessarily associate sex with love. There are certain considerations we’ve had to learn to deal with.”

“But you still haven’t figured out how to create an elevator system in the Sanctum,” Tony remarked with amusement as Stephen rolled his eyes at him. “Look, I get what you’re saying. But that’s also a totally different thing. These are the dragons we’re talking about. They’re doing what’s natural to them. If Levi doesn’t catch Friday, I don’t think that will mean they love each other any less, right?”

“I can’t be sure, but I would assume not.”

“But Friday’s mate would still be someone who isn’t Levi.”

“Correct.”

“That’s kinda like having to get remarried every few years as far as things go for them…” Tony reasoned, shaking his head. “They’d both be heartbroken.”

“... See, I’m not sure where you’re going with this,” Stephen sipped at his tea, raising an eyebrow, “but I’m getting ‘dragon wedding’ vibes from this.”

“... okay, I wasn’t going there, but can we?” the gold rider grinned, and Stephen simply laughed at him, picking at his breakfast with amusement.

“That seems like something you’d want to ask them rather than foist on them.”

Tony sighed mulling over the details.

"I'm just… It doesn't matter how long I've been in the Sanctum it's hard to get used to that kind of mentality. By society's standards outside of the Sanctum, it's cheating… but here it’s just culture," Tony managed, poking at his eggs with the tip of his fork. "And yeah, I get it, it is how it is but that doesn't stop my instincts from reacting as they are." Tony sighed, scooping a piece of his egg onto the English muffin and taking a nibble.

Stephen smiled sweetly from across the table. "It simply is, Tony. Whatever comes, I'm sure we will work it through, you're really not putting a whole lot of faith in Levi either, it's not like he's any less determined than before," Stephen soothed softly. "Things will work out in the end, they generally do, I wouldn't worry too hard on it."

"So… Have you put any thought into the situation with Loki, well - of course, you have but have you come to any sort of conclusion on it? I still don't entirely know how you feel," Tony opted for switching the subject, not terribly keen on the previous one.

"I have," Stephen started, sipping his tea.

"... and?"

“And I think it’s you who needs to spend some time reconsidering things. You talk about the idea of being with someone else as cheating not considering the fact that cheating means going against agreed-upon rules. If the conversation has been had and all parties agree that sharing does not constitute cheating, then is it still cheating?” Stephen looked up with a small smile of amusement. 

“Naturally the answer to that question is going to be different from person to person, but you need to sort that out for you. That’s all I’ve really been waiting for. This is a hangup of yours, and if it continues on that’s going to cause some disharmony in whatever relationship would come of it. I don’t expect you to have all the answers right away and it’ll take time to smooth through things… but my feelings for Loki never really went away.”

The red rider finished cleaning up his plate and sat back to cradle his tea, smiling warmly at Tony. “If you love him I’m never going to feel any less loved in sharing you with him. I know you love me. Friday wouldn’t speak to me the way she does if you didn’t. So if you’re comfortable with it… then I’m happy to see if Loki is comfortable pursuing a relationship with us.”

"Well, the idea of cheating is… deception, I don't talk about it like that, there's a palpable difference between that and a polyamorous relationship. We've talked about this. Even in my culture outside the Sanctum, it's questionable which is why it's not just a straight answer for me and I want you to understand it’s… just not that simple, as much as I want it to be," Tony set his fork down onto the table, hands balling uncertainly on the surface.

"I'm not entirely one-hundred percent on this, I want to be, and I was hoping you'd help with that… It may be a hang-up, but pointing that out doesn't help, what helps is finding a solution to that, reassurance, I'm sorry if I want you to sugar-coat it for me but in these circumstances, I kind of need you to," Tony's lips contorted awkwardly as he sucked in his cheek on one side.

“No matter how things go I won’t love you any less,” Stephen began softly. “I love you. I also love Loki, but I’ve already dedicated myself to you and I have no desire to change that - I will dedicate myself to you exclusively if that’s what you need from me. My fear is that we start things and you decide that you’re not okay or comfortable with it… Loki’s been hurt enough, I don’t want to give him hope and then take that away. But my priority is always going to be you, Tony.”

Reaching across the table, the red rider tapped the spot where Levi’s scale hung rather pointedly. “I made you a promise, remember? I didn’t make that promise for Levi’s sake, or Friday’s sake… I made that promise to you out of love for you.”

Tony gently reached up and touched the red scale on his neck, remembering the words shared in the hospital. He pinched the edges of it lightly and tilted it to look at it as he listened to Stephen's words intently.

"It was honestly my only concern, after fighting so hard to get you. It's been a struggle to come around, and after all we've been through I'd never want to lose you," he let the scale fall to his chest. He looked up at Stephen.

"I just want to give Loki the same happiness you gave me..."

“You’re never going to lose me, Tony. I’m not used to people caring about me the way you do, and I’m certainly not about to let go of someone so amazing,” the other man smiled warmly at him. “So if you think your heart is big enough to share, then I think we should have a chat with Loki later. Maybe over lunch…?”

"I think we should maybe take a little bit of that happiness we have and share it with those that are the most important to us," Tony smiled to himself, grabbing one of Stephen's hands and gently placing a kiss upon it.

The red rider slowly moved over to him and wrapped his arms around the engineer. He tugged Tony's head up against his stomach and ran his fingers through his head. "Let's go pay Loki a visit then shall we?" Stephen smiled softly, running his trembling hands over Tony's cheeks.

Nothing was ever so easy, however. By the time the pair were dressed and ready to go, there was a knock at the door and it took Stephen a couple of minutes to figure out where it was coming from. The front door wielded nothing, leaving him to glance between Tony and the door that linked the two suites. The moment it was opened, a brightly smiling teen waved and tucked his hands behind his back.

“Tony! Stephen! So… I was talking with Aunt May and… I wondered if maybe I could… you know, maybe participate in this hatching? With the dragons? That’s supposed to be next week, right? It took a lot of time to convince her but… well, I think I could be really helpful!”

Stephen laughed softly from his spot as he approached the door and wrapped his arms around Tony with a little hum. “I shouldn’t be surprised by this.”

"Honestly Peter, I wouldn't be surprised if you imprinted on a red yourself, or even managed a gold," the gold rider snickered softly, "but then again, you've done both of those already."

Tony gently leaned into the red rider, closing his eyes and enjoying the other man's company almost too much. He tilted his head so he could kiss the bottom of Stephen's beard not caring even an ounce that Peter was standing there right in front of them.

“So… is that a yes?” Peter inquired, looking between the two of them and not seeming to care much about the display of affection. “... Because Aunt May said it was only okay if you two said it was okay. And I know it’s dangerous! I’ve been doing a lot of reading already, and I was studying dracology specifically so that I could try and get a better understanding of the fire-lizards…”

“No one here is doubting your ability to be a dragon rider if you wanted,” Stephen chuckled softly as he watched the teen. “So if you want to join the others at the hatching… you have my blessing. Tony?”

"I don't think we could stop you if we wanted to, but regardless, I couldn’t in my right mind hold you back," Tony responded softly as the horde of fire-lizards started to fold in and flit around them anxiously.

Tony was a little exhausted from the night before, he lightly leaned his head on Stephen, planting a kiss on the man's cheek. "Hopefully, one day you end up becoming a Sanctum leader, you definitely have it in you," Tony smiled nodding to Stephen. 

"Shall we go pay Loki a visit? We both have some unfinished business to attend to," Tony mentioned softly.

“Of course, love.”

By that point, Peter had already turned on heel to rush back into the other quarters, shouting excitedly to May about having been given permission to partake in the hatching. Stephen simply chuckled and shook his head, making his way out to the front step where Levi waited for them anxiously. There was no denying that the red dragon wanted to be with his mate, but that didn’t stop him from giving them a ride down to the quarters that Loki had begun to call his own.

They’d barely settled onto the ground again when Levi took off with a little grumble to find his mate, anxious and excited, leaving the Sanctum leaders to wander to Loki’s door easily enough. Stephen gave a light rap and Loki opening the door not long after, looking a little surprised.

“Tony, Stephen, to what do I owe the honour?” he chimed happily, inviting the pair in with a little grin.

Tony walked in with the invitation, Stephen following on his heels before shutting the door gently afterwards.

"We've been thinking," Tony began, moving over to Loki with a quick step, he flicked his gaze back over to Stephen who joined them just as soon. "About how you might be lonely here all by yourself..." The screeching and calls from the young whelps did nothing to set Tony off of his course of dialogue.

"Maybe you could use some companionship after everything you've been through," Tony added and Stephen waltzed over with just as much grace to join them. While Tony stood in front, Stephen slung his arm around Loki's shoulders in a rather timid fashion.

“Companionship,” Loki echoed with confusion, finding himself suddenly surrounded by the pair of Sanctum leaders without even a ‘hello, how are you?’ “Is this a booty call? Because really those tend to function as texts… I do still have a phone after all,” he added.

“This isn’t a booty call,” Stephen clarified, though the raven-haired man looked still more puzzled as he observed the shorter duo. “Loki, we’ve been talking about this for… a little while now. I know you didn’t want to be around us being lovey-dovey or however you wanted to think of it but… how would you feel about staying with us and being a part of that? Not just sexually but… romantically?”

The red rider looked uncharacteristically shy, his cheeks showing the smallest hint of pink as Loki looked between Stephen and Tony in uncertainty, watching as Tony gave a little nod at his look of question. “Sorry, you mean…?” he hesitated, his feet shuffling as his hands remained still at his side for a long moment before an arm looped around Stephen’s waist curiously. “You want… a relationship with me?”

"Well, that would be the idea," Tony smiled, the corners of his lips turning up. Loki still seemed confused by the prospect, not entirely sure that he was hearing things completely right in his head. 

He was recovered and working on improving emotionally each day but this was one of those instances where he thought he wasn't quite all there. Stephen gently rubbed at the raven-haired man's cheek and Loki seemed to be scoping out the sensation of it, contemplating how it would work out. Tony had assumed that Loki would take up the offer without hesitation before Hela, but now the man was treading so cautiously it was as if he was worried about another loss.

"I think I might like that," he finally added softly. He pressed his forehead into Stephen's temple, closing his eyes. "It has been rather lonely, even with the whelps," he stated. 

Tony took a seat beside him and gently placed a hand on Loki's leg.

"You do know though," Loki turned his head towards Tony with a shadow of his formerly wide grin twisting onto his face, "that the two of you won't be getting rid of me that easily if you got through with this. This is a permanent arrangement." 

Tony laughed. "Without question."

“That was the point,” Stephen added as he gave Loki a gentle squeeze. The raven-haired man glanced to his headboard where the trio of lizards sat cuddled up, and his free arm looped around Tony’s waist as well to pull him in close.

“Good. It’s about fucking time with the two of you,” Loki chuckled a bit. “It can still also be a booty call, so we’re clear. I’m not opposed,” he added with a wry smile at the pair, leaving Stephen to laugh a little bit and roll his eyes.

“Consider letting us take you somewhere for lunch, first? How long has it been since you’ve been to Pepper’s?”

“... months?” Loki responded, sounding a little wistful. “That sounds really nice…”

Tony placed an arm on Loki's shoulder as he was towed into the little group hug. He wrapped an arm around the raven-haired man's shoulder with a smile and softly smoothed his hand up and down Loki's back.

"I can promise you we want more than just a booty call, though," Tony snickered softly. "If you don't need to get into anything more comfortable I bet it would be nice to stretch your legs, let's go then? I'm sure Pepper will appreciate seeing the new dragons."

“Are we walking? You know it’s like an hour and a half uphill walking to Pepper’s from here, right?” Loki pointed out as he carefully removed himself from between the duo to change into something more appropriate for outside.

He hadn’t left the house in a long time. It was hard to see the dragons flying above him, knowing that he was grounded and being reminded of his loss. He’d made efforts to see people, at least. Thor came by, and some of the dragonless met up once a week to try and make efforts at getting past what had happened. A therapist had been set to the task of speaking with them all, despite that some of the dragonless hadn’t spoken when they first started out.

By that point the only one who remained quiet was Tilly, and Loki suspected it had to do with a lot more than simply the loss of her dragon. He glanced at the two leaders still perched on his bed.

“Have you two visited Tilly, yet? Everyone else has started talking again… I wonder if it might not be worth bringing Tilly to meet Friday.”

"We can do that, there's no sense in not trying," Stephen offered softly.

"We can ask Steve or Thor for a ride, or if Levi isn't running errands for Friday that would also work. I could check with him first," Tony added as he seemed to look like he was thinking.

< _ Levi are you available at the moment to take Stephen, Loki and I to the canteen? _ >

< _ On this occasion yes, Friday is sleeping but I don't want to be away from her very long, I can drop you off quickly. _ >

< _ I'm sure she's not alone, she has her other red drake watching over her! _ >

< _ Don't even joke about that, _ > Levi grumped and Tony rolled his eyes.

< _ We're at Loki's house. _ >

< _ I'll be there in a moment. _ >

"Levi can help us get to the canteen for now, by our luck Friday is resting," he grinned and offered a hand to Loki.

Straightening out his new shirt, Loki took Tony’s hand in one of his and offered a vaguely tentative hand to Stephen after, finding the red rider didn’t hesitate to clasp his hand. “Good. That sounds like a lot of walking, otherwise,” Loki smiled warmly as he held to the duo and allowed them to lead him out to fly again.

* * *

Levi was agitated.

He paced behind where Tony had been positioned, watching his queen sitting in the sands, keeping an eye on each of the hopefuls who gathered around the eggs and there was no denying the tension and excitement in the air. But Levi was clearly unhappy to be so far away from his mate.

“You ever consider you might have some attachment issues, Levi?” Tony teased him in hopes of alleviating some of his own anxiousness as he sat beside the woman dressed all in yellow who had once given him nightmares. She cast him a brief, knowing smile and reached a hand out to rest on one of his to pat it gently.

She hadn’t said much to him, but the sense of emptiness in the woman had given way for a serene, relaxed quiet that she presented. It was reassuring and soothing in many ways. She seemed to understand wholly how he was feeling at that moment without saying a word. 

No wonder Stephen liked her so much.

< _ Stephen isn’t here, Friday’s on her own down there… I don’t like it, _ > Levi complained with a little grumble before sitting himself down and allowing himself to be a perch for six of the fire-lizards - Tony’s, Tilly’s and Loki’s all behaving themselves enough to stay away from the sands.

Peter was barely visible from all the way up here in the sands - at least, it was hard to make out details of him. There was no mistaking his wide gestures and the way he flailed his fish around as he socialized with the others on the sands, so much more chatty and excitable than Tony remembered being. Every now and then Levi would perk up as Stephen stepped out onto the sands with a newcomer and he’d glance up to where they sat briefly, before making his way back towards the entry to await more people.

< _ How are you holding up, baby girl? _ > Tony inquired of the gold and she turned her head to look at him.

< _ There are many people near the eggs, it’s a little bit overwhelming, _ > she responded, though she didn’t sound stressed as she said it. She lay to one side sprawled out with an especially large egg not far from her as fourteen girls stood in a semi-circle around the egg.

< _ It will all be over soon enough Fri, you've come so far - everyone has. I'm sure Levi will also appreciate it, he's so restless you should see him right now, _ > Tony chuckled to himself and this earned him a couple of odd looks from the people around him.

< _ He's still upset about Jarvis, but I'm sure he will be able to handle himself lest the separation anxiety get too much for him. _ > Tony heard what sounded almost like a high pitched chortle in his mind with Friday chirping in amusement at the overprotective red.

Jarvis was sitting on Tony's shoulder, covered in gold flecks of scales having been constantly roosting in Friday's crest. The small ruby drake usually only left his spot on her head for food or to squabble with Levi, but even then it was more of a high-pitched miniature bray from Friday's crest when the two reds got into arguments. Regardless, the red was just as anxious about being away from the gold as Levi was and the intensity of both the drake and the fire-lizard’s silent demands were almost palpable.

Tilly gently reached up and took the small lizard into her lap without saying a word. She simply smiled, cradling it in her lap where it seemed to stop it's fussing and relax a little. Her own whelps joined her, and together they and Jarvis all curled into a bundle in the draped golden cloth, leaving the woman smiling down at them and tending to the young ones that settled to sleep despite the rising excitement of the room.

< _ I don't know how much more I can take of this, _ > the red brayed softly.

< _ Oh shush now, you'll be fine. Besides, the clutch won't be your problem anymore after this, the Sanctum riders will be looking after them, _ > Tony teased and Levi grunted softly again.

< _ It’s starting, _ > he didn’t know if it was Levi or Friday who alerted him then, but in what seemed like no time at all Stephen had joined them, not bothering to take up a seat as he leaned against the balcony edge, looking down upon the sands.

The eggs had been rocking, twitching, knocking lightly into one another before the first crack silenced the onlookers. Friday’s head was lifted high, her frills up and looking almost as though she wore the crown suited to her title of ‘queen.’ She watched the eggs intently as the first hatched - a brown who scrambled and scuttled through the sands - and from an outside perspective Tony watched realization dawn on the face of the young boy who had just made the best friend of his life.

The little dragons hatching and skittering across the sands were funny and hilarious to watch at first, though when the first injury happened he felt the knots tighten in his stomach. He knew the medical staff was on hand and prepared, and the feel of Tilly’s touch to one side of him, and Stephen’s hand curling around him helped him settle some as he moved to the balcony to lean against the red rider, Loki’s arms curling around his waist from behind and his chin resting on Tony’s shoulder to watch.

It was nearly forty-five minutes into the hatching with only mild injuries that Peter lost his fish and his heart to an awkwardly dignified little blue dragon, who seemed perfectly happy to smother the boy and his face in excited kisses, and another twenty-some minutes before the medical staff stepped onto the sands. As he had so often before, Wong made his way onto the sands to lead the new riders and their newborns away as those who didn’t impress upon a dragon were reunited with their families, or otherwise tended to by the staff.

Only three eggs remained unhatched in the sands, with the large gold and the women surrounding it still waiting.

“It will be soon,” Tilly spoke up from behind them, her clear eyes settled on the circle even as Tony dragged his eyes away from where May was clearly still celebrating for Peter as he was escorted out with the blue.

Tony looked back over his shoulder minding the one Loki was resting his head on to regard Tilly, the voice unfamiliar, calming and beautiful. 

Had this really just happened? Did he just hear her speak? This was the last piece to the puzzle, this marked the point where all the dragonless had finally spoken and it was something he didn't ever expect.

All of his successes on the whims of hunches and calculated guesses and things were finally coming through as he looked up to Stephen who seemed just as bewildered.

The gold rider didn't have much else to say, rather, the excitement was clear in her eyes as she looked down towards the many who'd so joyfully united with a dragon companion.

Finally, the largest egg began to rock back and forth and Friday's tail swayed from side to side in anticipation as the first crack in the opalescent shell snaked along the top. The shell continued to splinter and crack until the gold emerged to an awaiting group of excited females.

She waddled towards one of the backmost ladies, a younger golden-haired girl dressed in a black leather jacket over a blue and red shirt with tights on. She held the fish out, seemingly surprised to have been chosen, Friday watching intently, head tilting side to side as she crooned happily at the healthy gold.

< _ Her name is Vers, _ > Friday informed them as she nudged the little gold and her rider gently. < _ Her rider calls herself Carol. _ >

Stephen smiled warmly at that, squeezing Tony’s hand lightly and reiterating the message to Loki and Tilly. Tilly gave a soft hum at that as she carefully got to her feet, adjusting the fire-lizards around her and reaching out a hand to snag one of Tony’s. 

“Come,” she stated, quietly watching Stephen and Loki exchange looks as though they meant to follow. She gave a sharp shake of her head. “Just Tony,” she instructed clearly as she led him down towards the sands.

“You have managed remarkably well on your own,” the bald woman smiled, squeezing his hand firmly. “I am sorry you’ve been left on your own for so long. But you’re going to be the mentor for that young woman and her dragon, so at least let an old woman guide you in this?”

"I did, but then I wasn't alone, I had Stephen to help me out through it, though I can only imagine he was way out of his element there without any sort of guidance," the engineer chuckled softly and squeezed her hand. "I would appreciate the guidance on this, anything you have to show or teach me."

Among the many things, Tony had on his mind, how to mentor a female dragon rider didn't quite occupy his thoughts. He for one hadn't considered being in the position Stephen was. As much as he had given Stephen all the trouble in the world for not doing his job properly, he hadn't even considered what it would be like without the guidance of his own master backing it.

There was something maternal about the old gold rider who resonated confidence and as they approached the sands to greet the newest gold rider, Tony had just a moment of meekness rear its head as the bald woman walked over to greet Carol and Vers with the warmest smile imaginable.

This girl, Carol, definitely looked the part, she had an air about her, one which bled similar confidence to Tilly’s, yet held a rhythm of plasticity about her. And in part, her dragon Vers reminded him of Friday when she'd first hatched - it was almost like he'd been hit by a wave of nostalgia.

"Congratulations on catching the eye of the future queen," Tony smiled, he held a hand out to the rider "My name is Tony, I am the current Sanctum leader, and this is Tilly," he gestured to her. "The former."

“Oh, hey!” Carol glanced between the two for a moment, her hands busily wrapped around Vers even as she gave a little bit of a start when Friday climbed to her feet to nudge Tony excitedly.

< _ Isn’t she beautiful? _ > Friday preened happily, curling her head down to nudge at the little golden dragon and giving a little ringing croon that Levi echoed from where he sat, out of the sands but watching intently.

“I’m… I’m Carol,” the young blonde woman finally took Tony’s hand, watching Friday uncertainty. “And this is Vers!”

Tilly simply smiled at that. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Carol. And you, too, little Vers,” the bald woman took a long moment of thought, during which time the blonde piped up, giving Tony a curious look.

“I thought gold riders were only women. Are you the red leader?” she asked, and Tilly simply chuckled at that.

"Yeah, I'm an oddity here, but no - I am Friday's rider," he leaned over to gently run his hands over her muzzle, smoothing his palms over the bridge of her nose. "At least I know you're much more adept with the information and responsibilities that being a gold rider entails, Tilly, however, will guide you in all areas I will be insufficient." Friday softly nudged at Carol's side again excitedly.

"Wong will take you to the nursery from here where Vers will be cleaned and fed, get you all settled in with here," Tony nodded and looked up as the blue rider came stalking down the hall, "speak of the devil!"

Carol turned to Wong and regarded him with a nod, the blue rider returned it. There seemed to be a moment of surprise when Wong noticed Tilly standing there with all of them and she was the first to speak up.

"How fairs my old friend?" Tilly reached out to pull Wong into a hug and the old master looked surprised that Tilly was not only up but walking again.

"Is that actually you, Tilly? After all this time..." the man showed the most emotion he'd ever shown around Tony, and she pulled back with a soft smile.

"Now, now Wong, that's not very proper of you. We wouldn't want anyone here thinking you had more emotional settings than stern," she teased him softly and the stockier master shook his head.

"I'm glad you are in good spirits," Tilly nodded to Carol.

"Ah! Carol, Vers, if you wouldn't mind following me to the nursery, I'm sure Vers is famished and is looking for more." He held his hand out for them to follow. "Right this way." Carol followed him, and he glanced over his shoulder.

"We will catch up later Tilly." The old gold rider nodded with a smile.

“I have a feeling if I don’t speak with Stephen he’ll be quite cross with me as well,” Tilly hummed softly to herself, though she took a moment to offer a hand to Friday, watching the large gold dragon nudge her palm gently. “Hello, beautiful… I was your mother’s rider, once. And you do look like her, don’t you? Beautiful as can be.”

Hooking her hand into the crook of Tony’s arm, Tilly glanced at him. “Come, shall we catch up a little bit? I have as much to teach you as you have to teach her…” she cast him a sidelong look. “Do you think you’re ready for the responsibility?”

Tony nodded and let the old Sanctum leader pull him along. "There's a lot that's happened I also need to fill you in on," he curled his arm around hers and allowed her to lead the way. "I think grabbing Stephen would be a good idea, I'm sure he's just as eager to catch up with you as well." 

She smiled. "It really has been some time, I only recently came back into my concept of time and how long it's been."

* * *

The Sanctum was buzzing with activity.

People ran this way and that as they tried to make final preparations for the feast that preceded the imminent mating flight. Friday was already clearly anxious, stamping at the ground and playfully headbutting Levi in a challenge, where the red gently nipped back at her, meeting each headbutt with his own as he crooned at her.

Three years had passed since the last hatching and if it hadn’t been for Tilly’s tutelage Tony might’ve been surprised by how soon Friday was rising again. The former gold leader had been instrumental in teaching him how Friday’s cycles would work as she’d been through six hatchings of her own with Tao before she had passed away. 

She was clear that because there had been two threats so recently to the Earth and dragonkind, in general, there was no surprise that Friday had both laid a gold egg of her own so soon - “A safety measure in case anything should happen to her.” - and that she would rise again swiftly.

“They react to these kinds of threats easily. I’m fairly certain the illness that we had dealt with prior to this was what gave rise to Tao’s own laying of Friday’s egg, to begin with. It’s not a choice so much as a genetic recognition that the dragons cannot be allowed to die out. The threats have now prompted this. Despite the influx of dragons, you’re going to wind up with a fuller Sanctum than I ever had to manage,” Tilly had explained calmly. 

“Friday will rise, and when Vers reaches maturity she will also rise. Risings will peter off after a certain point, but if there are too many dragons for the Sanctum to handle, the other Sanctums will reach out to you and offer you the option of sending riders and their dragons to stay with them.”

Tony hadn’t realized it at first when Friday’s rising approached. He knew he felt more playful, with Stephen and Loki both easily reciprocating his affections and advances, but when it did finally strike him how close Friday was to rising again it all began to make more sense.

“... this is going to be a tiny bit of a relationship mess,” Loki chimed from the banquet table. He wouldn’t be joining them for the feast as it was exclusive to the riders participating in the flight, but that didn’t stop the raven-haired man from kicking his feet up onto the table to watch the red and gold leaders fondly.

“Assuming Levi catches Friday again - and I  _ do _ assume that’s the case - that won’t stop me from being affected by all this. So when I wind up screwing someone else senseless, I want it on record that it’s Friday’s fault and has no bearing on the fact that I love you both immensely.”

“And here I was thinking that it might be best to isolate you in a room like we do with the kids,” Stephen chuckled a little, casting a look over his checklist at Loki. “Or, I dunno, into the room we’ll eventually retire to.”

“Careful, Stephen. You’re the one most at risk if that happens. Then Tony and I both might end up sleeping with someone else.  _ Steve _ maybe!” Loki gave an exaggerated gasp and smirked at him, watching the red rider roll his eyes.

“We could do worse for a red leader than Steve,” Stephen shrugged. “But you look out there at Friday and Levi and you tell me those two don’t intend to be together.”

"I can't imagine it will affect them much either. I've come to realize that regardless of what happens out there, it won't ever come between them, and likewise, us by extension," Tony reached an arm around Stephen's neck as he leaned over the banquet chair.

"Mmm, I can fondly recall someone saying those exact same words at some point, once upon a time," Stephen looked up at him flashing the brunette a playful grin.

"Well, I better get going, it seems like they're about to close the doors here," Loki gave an exaggerated sigh as he got to his feet.

Tony stood up and reached for Loki's hand to pull him back in and steal a quick kiss, likewise, Stephen went for the other cheek, pulling him in.

"You two save a little bit of that frisk for me later, alright? Or I might just end up feeling lonely and left out," the former green rider grinned and Tony smoothed a hand over his shoulder.

"Please, Loki. Have you ever known me to be too tired or exhausted for something like that?" Stephen had to roll his eyes at Tony's little jest.

"Well... good point, anyways," the raven-haired man raised an arm and made an expedient exit as the final few riders filed into the hall and the doors were closed.

Tony took his seat next to Stephen at the head of the table, a hand lightly placed over the other man's trembling and scarred digits. They nodded to one another, Steve, Quill, Thor all joining them near the head of the table as well, the brutish blond already seemingly having pre-gamed.

Once everyone took their seats, Tony rose at the end of the table to clear his throat, his standing posture asking for all the riders' attention. 

Tony looked out among all the faces of the riders. Many he'd known for a long time, some newer faces and some much older than even his time at the Sanctum.

"Today we celebrate Friday's rise, we celebrate the coming of a new era for our dragons, us as a family and to honour those who were once among our ranks. With each generation, we grow stronger, smarter and more adept with the dragons and our environments, their capabilities and what we can do to impact the world in a better way. I'd like to raise a toast to all of you, to celebrate this wonderful occasion and to foster in the new generations to come, whatever love and whatever life this glorious day brings," Tony reached down to pick up the crystal flute, raising it up, encouraging everyone to sand and toast.

"Hear, hear!"

The crowd of riders cheered and Stephen slunk back into his seat to sip at his drink, watching Tony with warmth and amusement. As Tony sat down again and started loading his plate with some food, he glanced at Stephen with a raised eyebrow.

“What’s that look for? What are you thinking about?”

“How far you’ve come,” Stephen answered simply, dishing himself up and passing a couple of dishes down further for others to help themselves. “Not that you weren’t always good at making speeches but… hm. Well, I’m glad you’ve had Tilly to help you, anyway,” he smiled as he looked down at his plate.

Tony reached for Stephen's hand once again, sliding his finger in between the red riders shaking ones, squeezing ever so lightly and returning the smile.

"Tilly taught me a lot, but I have you to thank most of all for this. Tilly only filled me in on what I need to know going forward," Tony paused and played with Stephen's hand. "But I couldn't have done any of this, wouldn't have learned all I know right now if I didn't have you here by my side." His eyes held a softness, a fondness that he returned to regard Stephen with.

The red rider gently squeezed his hand. "I can't take credit for all of this though, you're a smart, cunning," Tony leaned in with an endearing smirk on his face, "asshole, that I love so much."

"Aww, you ruined it," Tony jested softly, curling his fingers in and tugging him forward for another kiss.

Stephen chuckled against his lips, brushing his free hand against Tony’s cheek. “Mmm, I can’t help it. You being an asshole is one of your most endearing traits, you know. I’m attracted to assholes in case you didn’t notice…”

“I noticed,” the gold rider responded softly, “but I might love them more.”

“You wanna fight about it…?” the blue-eyed man teased.

“Mmm, I’m sure it wouldn’t take much convincing. What happens when you lose the fight?”

“Depends on how you wanna fight about it… I might deserve a spanking--”

“Some of us are trying to eat, can you save that for later?” Quill jeered from across the table, a grin on his face nevertheless.

“Let them play if they want to,” Thor chuckled a bit at Quill, reaching to pat his shoulder some. “Consider it preshow. Dinner and a show. However you want to think of it.”

“I’m definitely thinking of bending Stephen over this table,” Tony chimed with a grin and the red rider in question rolled his eyes.

“I think you’ve forgotten who’s getting bent over tonight,  _ my dear gold leader. _ ”

"It's cute that you try to posture about this in front of everyone when we all know who loves to bite the pillow, even for Loki," Tony added once again and Thor nearly spat out his food.

"Alright well - maybe that's enough from you two. Like Quill said there are many here trying to eat their meals.”

Tony rolled his eyes and Thor's mild scolding earned Tony a wide grin from Stephen. Tony gently put a palm on the red rider's face to push him back. Steve had put a hand over his mouth, stifling the laughter he was desperately trying to keep in, mostly for the sake of being cordial and not wanting to be tugged into the little light-hearted debate between them.

When the trumpeting of the dragons announced Friday taking off, all of the tomfoolery was put on hold and the riders gathered at the window overlooking the platform. The dragons took off into the air after Friday in no time at all, and the afternoon sun made the display of wings absolutely dazzling for those watching before each of them was dragged further into the event, their minds linking to their dragons.

Tony vaguely felt Stephen’s hand in his own in some faraway corner of his mind, but even then it faded into nothingness as they rose further and further into the clouds, entirely taken away by the mating flight and the desire to force the dragons falling behind to work for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, at long last, at the end! Naturally, there are some things that weren't tackled in this - the story was already finished being written, and attempting to make changes didn't really work with the way the story itself was sorted out. Howard was not going to wind up harmed, and honestly jail time seemed unlikely for him as well given his influence, wealth and connections. He may have faced some humiliation, but more than anything the funds that he was made to pay personally into the Sanctum allowed for those elevators everyone kept complaining about, along with various other improvements. On that note, death of the author may reign here so if you have creative solutions that you want to imagine, we're not going to stifle your images of vengeance!
> 
> We've been absolutely thrilled by the amount of feedback you've all been giving us, and we're so happy that so many of you have enjoyed this! For Foxglove this was a work of love and passion, inspired by one of her favourite book series, and to see so many commenters who were also fans of the books was an absolute delight. On Halloween we'll start to share the project that originally inspired this one - Arcane Meridian. So we're not done with dragons yet, friends! We hope to see you there!
> 
> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


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